Paul Travis Hogge

On June 12, 2023 family and friends lost Paul T. Hogge at 89 years of age. Paul was born in 1934 to the late Mr. & Mrs. Charles R. Hogge, Sr. in Virginia in a record-setting snow storm. He grew up as a country boy on two farms of 265 and 176 acres, alongside his older brother Charles and big sister Catherine and essentially remained a country boy until the end of his life. He fit into modern urban life but he would rather have been back in Farmville, Virginia working on engines and telling stories to anyone who would listen. He liked people and related well to customers, employees, family and casual encounters in his daily life. One of Paul’s joys and specific abilities was being a mentor to young men. Most of his employees, when leaving, commended Paul for teaching them how to work. Paul graduated from Farmville High School in May of 1952. Always interested in anything mechanical, he enrolled in the College of William & Mary -V.P.I. in Norfolk, Virginia for the Fall of 1952 and Spring of 1953. While in Norfolk he began working for Boyd Miller. It was at Miller’s Motor Parts & Machine Company that Paul got a taste for his life’s work as an automotive machinist. The shop was geared to street rods, bootleggers, and Nascar circle tracks. It was here that he learned how to use a dynamic balancing machine and the secret formula (no longer a secret) for balancing crankshafts using bobweights. Paul enlisted in the Navy June 3, 1953 and went to boot camp in Bainbridge, Maryland. He graduated with distinction from the Service School Command in the U.S. Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois on January 9, 1954. From there he went to Service Craft School in Norfolk, Virginia and received training on the Y075, a tanker that serviced all the major steam-powered ships; destroyers, cruisers, battleships, and carriers. Once he became a 3rd Class Petty Officer he was transferred from the Atlantic Fleet to the Pacific Fleet in February 1955. At San Diego he was assigned to the U.S.S. SUMNER COUNTY (LST 1148). He was successfully promoted and received commendations in particular when he came up with a plan to clean out clogged sea suction strainers on the starboard side of the ship by allowing himself to be sealed into an emptied ballast tank and do the cleaning while his shipmates tipped that side of the ship out of the water. While onboard the U.S.S. SUMNER COUNTY, he was in two typhoons, in one of which he was in the engine room for two days straight holding the throttle while the ship rocked back and forth. He visited and greatly enjoyed many Japanese ports as well as Hawaii, and the Philippines. He was honorably discharged on May 23, 1957, receiving a written commendation stating that “During the time September 1956 through March 1957, the period of the SUMNER COUNTY’s most recent employment in WestPac, the ship steamed a total of 24,000 miles without a major breakdown of main engine room, an excellent indication of the efficiency of your work in that respect.” Although tempted by an offer to go to Officer Candidate School, he chose to return to civilian life and continued as a Navy Reservist through June of 1961. On returning to the East Coast, Paul worked for the Baltimore Transit Company from 1957-58, and, then, from 1958 to 2006, he was the co-owner and, then, owner of Racing Parts and Machine Company in Towson, Maryland. In addition, he became owner of Paul Hogge Automotive Co. in Baltimore City. His shop was equipped to clean brake drums and rotors and a lot of other engine parts. The shop was equipped for the racing industry and high performance industry as well as for truck, bus, and power boat engines. He and Racing Parts & Machine held many national records over the years. Paul married the love of his life, Marjorie Lang, at Catonsville United Methodist on June 28, 1958. They built a loving home with three children, Laurie, Tom, and Jenny. They resided in Loch Raven Village for some 35 years, and, then, moved down to Pasadena to live in a cape cod summer home built by Marge’s grandfather and aunt. Paul winterized the entire home from 1997 on, and added a beautiful deck and pergola to the house. In the backyard, he always had a wonderful vegetable garden, and he took particular joy in feeding and watching the birds. Paul Hogge followed Jesus Christ his whole life and recalls committing himself to Christ at a 1944 Summer Revival at Herman Presbyterian Church in Sax, Virginia. He recognized that life as a Christian was full of ups and downs, one of the hardest times being when his father died in 1946. He stopped going to Sunday School for a spell until his Sunday School teacher reached out and invited him back with a penny postcard that said that he was missed, that he should read the week’s lesson, bring an offering, and come back to church. He always said that when he got to heaven he would thank Mrs. McGraw for that wonderful postcard. He died of congestive heart failure exacerbated by a very difficult bout he’d had with endocarditis in 2021. Paul is survived by his wife Marjorie Hogge, his daughter Laurie Hogge and her children James, Paige (Romario) and Suzanna, his son Thomas Hogge (Cindy) and their three children Emily (Phil), Brian (Lindsey), and Sarah (Mike) and his daughter Jennifer Cosby (Ned) and their two sons Paul and Daniel. Paul is also survived by eight great grandchildren; Eric, Elijah, Ethan, Vivien, Eloise, Russell, Hannah, and Henry. In addition, Paul is survived by his older brother Charles (Joan), his niece Julia, and his nephew John (Judy). A memorial will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 at 11:00 at Severn Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church 110/114 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, Maryland 21122. Phone: 410-544-5013. In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to The Refuge of Eastern NC www.ncRefuge.org The Christian Appalachian Project https://www.christianapp.org/ The American Heart Association www.heart.org

Paul Travis Hogge

February 27, 1934 - June 12, 2023