Jewel Kornegay Mogan

Margaret Jewel Mogan died February 11, 2023. She was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana on September 17, 1932, to Isaac and Margaret Kornegay. She received a B.A. from Louisiana State University in 1955. In 1957, she married Joseph J. Mogan. He preceded her in death in 2006.

She is survived by daughter Maria Orton, of Aurora, Colorado; son Dr. Joseph J. Mogan of New Orleans; son and daughter-in-law Gavin and Amy Mogan of Richardson, Texas; and grandchildren Luke and Maris Stella Mogan and Michael Bowlin and wife, Esther, of Evergreen, Colorado; and great-grandchild Grant Bowlin.

Jewel was active in numerous humanitarian and environmental causes, over the years volunteering at Sister Regina’s Social Action Services, VISTA (domestic Peace Corps), Catholic Charities, Lubbock Democratic Headquarters, Family Promise, Teethsavers International, West Texas Organizing Strategy, and serving as usher-greeter-reader at St. John Neumann Church. She was a regular donor at United Blood Services for forty-five years.

She enjoyed travel, reading, and playing tennis, treasuring her family, friends, and fellow writers in the Ad Hoc Writers Group that meets at the Unitarian Church.

She received her M.A. in English literature in 1965 from Southern Illinois University. She was a book editor at L.S.U. Press and worked for the U.S. Postal Service. In 1995, she published a book of short stories at Ontario Review Press in Princeton, N.J., which received the 1995 James V. Turner prize for the best first book of fiction by a Texas writer. She twice won the Pushcart Prize and was nominated for a third Pushcart Prize. Her stories were published in numerous magazines, such as Mademoiselle and The Southern Review, and anthologized in several publications. The Dallas Museum of Art in 1996, 1998, and 1999 featured readings of her stories in their Literary Café and Texas Bound Series.

Her unpublished writings include two novels, a novella, and a collection of short stories. A biography of the life and work of Sister Regina Foppe, O.L.V.N., is in the Southwest Collection at Texas Tech University Library.

She will be remembered at a Mass to be celebrated at St. John Neumann Catholic church on March 5, 2023. Burial will be in the Cremains Garden in the City of Lubbock Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the St. Edmund Missions, 1420 Broad St., Selma, Alabama, 36701, or to a favorite charity.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.olingerhampdenmortuary.com for the Mogan family.