Mary Katherine Moore Rocha Greenfield Hesson
Mary Katherine Moore Rocha Greenfield Hesson, former Ruston resident, died peacefully just before midnight on Sunday March 5, 2023, in a Houston-area hospital, at age 84, surrounded by her immediate family.
Mary K. was born in 1938 in Wayne, Nebraska, to Dr. John A. and Gladys B. Moore, who moved the family to Ruston in 1947, where both her parents taught at Louisiana Tech. She attended Eastland Elementary, graduated from Ruston High School in 1956, and graduated cum laude from Louisiana Tech in 1960.
She taught at Woodlawn High School in Shreveport, and was awarded a teaching assistantship at the University of Texas at Austin for 1963-65. Mary K. next taught at Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, Texas. While at UT Austin, she met the man whom she would marry in a wedding held in Ruston on Dec. 31, 1966 — Paulo Murillo Araujo da Rocha, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
They moved to Michigan where Paul opened a business, and where their daughter, Mary Esther, was born. The family later moved to Miami, Florida.
Mary K. next married Stuart Greenfield in May 1988. She married a third and final time to Edward Hesson in January 1997 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Mary K. and Edward later moved to Houston to be near her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren.
Mary K. had a love of writing and editing, and poetry and hymn writing were special to her. Her love of God and Christian faith were foremost in her life.
In January 2011, her health was deteriorating, a result of heart failure. At the end of that month, she had a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) pump surgically implanted. The expected “life” of the device was only 5 years, but Mary K. proved the estimates wrong, and had a total of 12 good, fulfilling years with not only her pump, but also with family and friends.
Mary K. was preceded in death by her parents, John and Gladys Moore; her brother, John Adam “ Jack” Moore Jr. and his wife Phyllis; her first husband, Paul Rocha; and her second husband, Stuart Greenfield.
She is survived by her loving husband of 26 years, Edward Hesson; her daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Mary Esther Rocha and Bryan Lethcoe; grandchildren, Bella (Kit) and Zach; brothers, Robert Moore of Minden, Henry Moore and wife Rose of Holland, Michigan, and Dr. David Moore and wife Paula of Blacksburg, Virginia; cousins, Christine Moore Kidder and Patricia Moore Wilson; nieces and nephews, Laurel Moore Smith, Kevin and Malia Moore, Richard and Geoff Moore, and Zeke and Colin Jeansonne-Moore; and her life- long special friend, Shirley Smith LeBlanc.
Her mortal remains were cremated.
A memorial service will be held for the extended family later this Spring in Houston.
