Nancy Hogel

Nancy Hogel nee Knight, age 88 passed away peacefully on March 22, 2024. Nancy was born to Arthur and Jean Knight (Bentsen) and after Jean and Arthur’s untimely deaths, was raised by her father’s sister and brother, Mabel Knight and Barry Knight in New York.

Nancy’s family was a family of means until they lost their fortune in the Great Depression. Her family were members of high Manhattan society, especially her dad who was dear friends with General Douglas McArthur. He wrote to Nancy after her father’s passing. Nancy was very proud of her father and his family, whose descendants were famous artists who had immigrated from Hanover, Germany to New York. Nancy remembered her father as “always working” and that was instilled in Nancy. Nancy ‘s mother died when she was 3 months old, and she did not meet her birth mother’s family until she was 80. Learning that she had a half-sister and a large family on her mother’s side brought her joy after growing up as an only child. Unfortunately, she was not able to meet her half-sister, Joyce, who passed away a few years before this new branch of the family tree was discovered. Nancy was able to meet her beautiful niece, Jeanne O’Leary and her husband Bob, who welcomed her with loving arms. It was a beautiful moment in Nancy’s life.
Nancy was born in the Bronx, NY and for the entirety of her life she remembered the Bronx fondly. She loved NY and was proud of being a New Yawker and not from Jersey. Nancy’s favorite memories of NY were the stores she shopped at. She was a regular at Saks 5th Avenue, Plymouths and Bonwit Teller. Nancy was a consummate shopper and schlepped her daughter up and down 5th Avenue and all over Manhattan and Greenwich Village every weekend to find the most stylish outfits. As much as Nancy liked to shop, she walked everywhere until she finally received her driver’s license at age 36, which was a scary day for the rest of the drivers and pedestrians in New Jersey. With a driver’s license, Nancy discovered the shopping malls of New Jersey and slowly gave up her jaunts to NY unless meeting up with her beloved sister-in-law, Jean.
She worked very hard, sometimes working two or more jobs to make ends meet. She began working at 16 at the Corn Exchange Bank, because they asked for no proof of age, and worked continually until her retirement at the age of 62. Nancy worked and raised a daughter as a single mother at a time when that was not common. Nancy worked for some well-known companies, though they weren’t quite so well known or infamous when she worked there. She worked directly for James Dolan at Cablevision, which at that time was located in Oakland, because it was close to her home, and they offered free cable television to its employees. She then worked for Perdue Fredericks in Totowa, which later became Purdue Pharma, infamous for creating the opioid oxycontin. Nancy knew way back then that what Perdue Fredericks created was dangerous. Nancy was ahead of her time in recognizing the dangers that this opioid was creating and could have written her own book about everything she witnessed during the time she worked there. She retired from PF Labs at the age of 62 as she anticipated the arrival of her twin granddaughters, who she frequently said were the best thing that ever happened to her.
Nancy had two great loves in her lifetime, both named “Bob”- Bob Bresemann and Bob Hogel. Bob Bresemann was her fated love. They were born 10 days apart in the same hospital and lived blocks from each other but did not meet until the age of 16. While they both loved the Bronx, they wanted a nicer area in which to raise a family and relocated to Paterson, New Jersey after they married. Shortly thereafter, their daughter, Lisa, was born and the small family grew with the addition of a parakeet named Petey, fish, turtles, a parrot named Yaacov, snakes and salamanders and a chameleon named Fidel. Life happened and Nancy and Bob divorced. Nancy was strong-willed and traveled by herself to Tijuana, Mexico so that she could obtain a divorce in one day. Despite that divorce, her connection and love for Bob remained till her passing.
She then met her second Bob. They dated on and off for 26 years before they joyfully married. They lived in Clifton and bought a second home in the Poconos. It was that home that gave Nancy the greatest joy. They lovingly built that home and labored over every detail. After Bob passed away at an untimely age, Nancy continued to live in that home and reveled in her “country” life. She described Bob, as the best man she ever knew with the exception of her father.
Nancy’s love of all feathered and furry animals continued throughout her entire life. She loved and protected several pets, with her favorite being Shadow who she found on her doorstep in Tobyhanna, PA and he never left her side during his life. During her later years, the visits of support dogs at the nursing home she resided at as well as at the Hospice Facility were the highlight of her days.
While four-legged creatures were a special part of her life, the real jewels in her crown were her grandchildren. She was such a huge part of granddaughters’ Carleigh and Taylor’s lives. She was the person who picked them up from camp and who waited for them at the bus stop. She was the person who did everything humanly possible to make their dreams come true.
Nancy is survived by her devoted daughter, Lisa Bresemann Marotta (Billy), and her beloved stepson, Eric Bresemann, and her grandchildren Carleigh and Taylor, Lyla, and Logan. Nancy was predeceased by her beloved husband, Bob Hogel, her brother-in-law, Richard and sister-in-law, Cathy.

Friends and family will be received on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm. A memorial service will begin at 4:45 pm. A private interment will follow.

In lieu of flowers, as an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions to honor Nancy may be made to the Montville Animal Shelter or Popcorn Park Zoo.