Margaret Mary Fagan Hotze

Margaret Mary Fagan Hotze passed peacefully at her home on the 27th of March, 2024. She was preceded in death by her husband of 46 years, Ernest George Hotze, Jr., her brother, William Audrey Fagan, Jr., her grandson, David Bradley Hotze, and great-granddaughter, Molly Catherine Liuzzi.

Margaret was born in Houston, Texas, on the 17th of August, 1928, the eldest child of Elizabeth Lorraine Moutier and William Audrey Fagan, Sr.

Margaret Hotze spent a lifetime volunteering for causes she believed in. As a student at Incarnate Word Academy in Corpus Christi, Texas, she went weekly to the barrios, where Mexican families opened their homes to religious education classes for neighborhood children. While attending the University of Texas, she spent weekend mornings at the School for the Blind teaching “Sunday School” to high school students.

In 1947, Margaret received her degree in Journalism and Communications from the University of Texas. On the 1st of October, 1949, she married Ernest George Hotze and moved to Houston to begin their life together.

Once in Houston, she volunteered to organize the religious education program for St. Michael Catholic mission church on old Post Oak Road. When it later became a parish, she was involved in the religious education program, organized the parish library, and served two terms on the parish council. While at St. Michael, Margaret was a den mother for five of her Cub Scout sons and a Girl Scout troop leader for her only daughter. Margaret also served ten years on the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston's Board of Education.

She also served as a board member of the Cerebral Palsy School of Houston, president of the St. Thomas High School Mothers' Club, president of the Houston Panhellenic Society, national president of Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority, and board member of Human Life International.

When she and her husband began Compressor Engineering Corporation (CECO) in mid-1964, Margaret was responsible for ensuring the orders were filled, shipped, and billed. This involved many trips to bus stations and airports, which she shoe-horned between carpools and scout campouts. She served on CECO's board of directors for years. CECO’s 60 years of success can be largely attributed to Margaret’s hard work.

When the United States Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade on the 22nd of January, 1973, Margaret stepped in to help form Texas Right to Life.

In May of 1975, Margaret reached out to Catholic Charities, adopting through them a host of Cambodian families fleeing the massive genocide perpetrated by the communist Khmer Rouge regime. She settled them and several South Vietnamese families in the Heights section of Houston. They arrived in town with only the clothes on their backs and shoe boxes full of worthless paper currency from their former countries. She fed, clothed, housed, educated, befriended, ministered to them, and gave them jobs at the family business.

That same year, Margaret helped open Houston’s first crisis pregnancy center and founded The Life Advocate, Texas’ only pro-life newspaper, where she served as editor until 2012.

In 1976, she and her husband Ernest established the Foundation for Life, where she served on the board of directors for decades. The Foundation is dedicated to the truth that all human life has dignity and absolute value, is made in the image and likeness of God, and is worthy of protection from conception to natural death.

From 1969 until the 2015 session of the Texas Legislature, she was a pro-life, pro-family lobbyist – volunteer, of course – in the halls of the Texas Capital Building. She drove to Austin from Houston every week when the legislature was in session.

Margaret's first major win in the legislature came in 1977 when the State made it illegal for medical schools to force students to learn to perform abortions in order to graduate. She was credited for much of the success during the 83rd Texas Legislature for getting HB2 passed, substantially reducing the number of unsafe abortion clinics in Texas.

In 1989, the St. Joseph’s League of Houston decided that the city needed a new Catholic bookstore. The group formed the Catholic Truth Foundation of Houston and opened Veritas Catholic Bookstore. Margaret volunteered as manager until 2009. Her office there had an open-door policy, where she ministered to many seeking the Lord. While there, she also instituted the annual Lenten lecture series at the University of St. Thomas.

In 2012, Margaret received the Defender of the Faith award from the Fullness of Truth Catholic Evangelization Ministries for her lifetime of work and the example she set for all women with the courage of their Christian convictions.

Margaret was a Republican precinct chairman for decades and often held primary elections in the garage of her Pine Shadows home. She served as a delegate to many Republican State and National Conventions.

She is survived by her eight children: Dr. Steven Forrest Hotze and his wife Janie, Bruce Read Hotze, Sr. and his wife Beth, James Benedict Hotze and his wife Cindy, Ernest Mark Hotze and his wife Cathy, David Neill Hotze, Sr. and his wife Donna, Richard Kennan Hotze and his wife Nancy, Margaret Lorraine (Gretchen) Heerensperger and her husband Dr. Tim Heerensperger, Christopher Andrew Hotze and his wife Ashley.

She is also survived by 41 grandchildren, Mary Beth Burrow and husband Tom, Catherine Cagle and husband Paul, Sarah Liuzzi and her husband Matthew, Paul Hotze and his wife Chloe, Patrick Hotze and his wife Laura, Deborah McInnes and her husband John, Rebekah Gorder and her husband Casey, Elizabeth Sanchez and her husband Fred, Bruce Hotze, Jr. and his wife Alafair, Christian Drake and her husband Brian, Michele Supple and her husband Ty, Helen Heap and her husband Ted, Ernest Hotze and his wife Caroline, Melissa Hotze, Dr. Margaret Anne Skaug and her husband Dr. Brian Skaug, Dr. Timothy Hotze, William Hotze and his wife Jessica, Lorraine Black and her husband Jeremy, Theresa Hotze, Dr. Matthew Hotze and his wife Elise, Luke Hotze and his wife Megan, Gary Hotze, David Hotze, Jr., Clare Hotze, Brendan Hotze, Philip Hotze, Alexander Hotze, Dr. Mary Louise Hotze, Carolyn Clare Hotze, Jonathan Heerensperger, Jennifer Heerensperger, Bridget Moore and her husband Brian, Dr. Emily Navarro and her husband Jaime, Gregory Heerensperger, Laura Hall and her husband Brendan, Ellen Tarango and her husband Fabian, Katie Heerensperger, Benjamin Heerensperger, Thomas Hotze and his wife Laura, Kathleen Hotze and Julia Hotze, along with 68 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Beatrice Roach Fagan, and an abundant number of nieces and nephews, devoted friends and loyal caregivers.

With heartfelt gratitude, the family extends their deepest appreciation to Juanita Bustos, Gloria Ivory, Shelly Dobbins and Robert Malec, who have provided compassionate care to Margaret over the past ten years.

She left this life as she lived it, blessed handsomely by God.

Recitation of the Holy Rosary will be held at seven o’clock in the evening on Thursday, the 4th of April, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 3617 Milam Street in Houston. Immediately following the Recitation of the Holy Rosary, all are invited to join the family during a wake in the church parish hall.

A Requiem Mass is to be offered at half-past nine o’clock in the morning on Friday, the 5th of April, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 3617 Milam Street in Houston.

The Rite of Committal will follow, via an escorted cortege at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery in Houston. Immediately following all are invited to greet the family during a reception at a venue to be announced during the service.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests memorial contributions in memory of Mrs. Hotze to be directed to The Foundation for Life, 10900 Northwest Freeway, Suite #112, Houston, TX 77092; Dominican Friars - Province of St. Martin de Porres (if giving by check, please make check payable to Southern Dominican Province), P.O. Box 8129, New Orleans, LA 70182; St. Thomas High School, 4900 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77007; or the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, 3800 Montrose Boulevard, Houston, TX 77006.