Mary Kate Nix Vogen

January 19, 1933 – January 9, 2025

Mary Kate Nix Vogen, lovingly called “Sissy” by her family, was a graceful Southern lady known for her kind spirit, quick wit, ready smile, and devotion to family.

Born in Waycross, Georgia, to Sarah Colcord Wadley and William Moore Sweat, Mary Kate was deeply rooted in Georgia history. She was the great-great-granddaughter of Georgia railroad pioneer William Morrill Wadley.

Mary Kate’s early life took her across the globe after her mother remarried to William E. Nix, a Full Bird Colonel with the USAF. She lived in Japan, Texas, and Maryland, but always considered Macon, Georgia her true home. A graduate of Tokyo American School, she later attended Baylor University in Texas.

In 1954, she married Paul Duane Vogen, an Air Force airman. Together, they built a life in Macon, raising their daughters Kathy and Susu. Paul worked as a hospital administrator while Mary Kate devoted herself to family, volunteering with Meals on Wheels, Macon Service League and serving with the Christ Episcopal Church altar guild.

Mary Kate is preceded in death by her husband in 1995. She moved to Marietta in 2014 and Athens in 2024 to be closer to her daughters. She passed away peacefully at Arbor Terrace of Athens at the age of 91.

She is survived by her daughters Katherine Anne Vogen (Chris Rasmussen) and Susan Vogen Thomas (Jay); grandchildren Adrian Kate Allen McDonald (Bubba), Audrey Grace Thomas, and Paul Foster Vogen Thomas; great-granddaughter Eloise Katherine McDonald; three sisters, Nancy Nix, Sarah Coffey, and Rebecca Nix; and many nieces, nephews, and loved ones.

Burial will be private and her ashes will be interred alongside her husband’s at Christ Episcopal Church in Macon. A bench will be placed in her honor at the Wadley Family Cemetery in Bolingbroke, Georgia.

The family would like to thank the compassionate staff at Arbor Terrace of Athens and Agape Hospice.

Lord & Stephens Funeral Homes, West, Watkinsville, GA is assisting the family with arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com