Obituary: Myra W. Hoen Dec. 4, 1935 – July 7, 2020

MYRA W. HOEN Dec. 4, 1935 – July 7, 2020

Myra W. Hoen, formerly of Los Alamos, died Tuesday, July 7at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, Virginia, at the age of 84.

Born Dec. 4, 1935, Myra was the only child of Edwin Groff Waterhouse and Hazel Mateal (Cox) Waterhouse in Seattle, Washington.

Despite living through the hardships of World War II, her childhood included music, ice skating and horseback riding lessons. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honorary Society at University of Washington where she earned a B.S. in Mathematics.

While attending graduate school at North Carolina State University, she met and married doctoral candidate Klaas Hoen. Msgr. Herbert A. Harkins officiated their July 6, 1959 wedding at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh, North Carolina.

As their family grew, Myra and Klaas lived in the Netherlands, Australia and Ireland before moving back to the United States and settling in Salem, Virginia, for many years.

Myra loved music and was accomplished at playing flute, piccolo, piano, clarinet, violin and viola. She played in community symphony orchestras and bands in each community where she lived and taught private flute and piano lessons as she raised her family. Once her children were grown, she tutored several Vietnamese refugees through college. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and knitted or crocheted many sweaters and blankets for them. She also created a variety of Christmas ornaments and cross-stitch projects as gifts for family.

After her husband’s retirement, the couple moved to Hampton, Virginia, close to their son and his family. A year after her husband died in April 2006, Myra moved to Los Alamos and spent many hours at Los Alamos Senior Center as a volunteer, enthusiastic participant in the Day Out Program and a regular at lunch. She was an active member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church with a weekly Eucharistic Adoration hour on Monday afternoons.

As she needed more help, Myra moved to Brookdale Independent Living and then to Vista Hermosa Vista Living Care, both in Santa Fe. In 2018 she returned to southeast Virginia.

Myra is survived by a son, Jan Hoen (Angie), Hampton, Virginia; daughters Margi Harrach (Ed), Los Alamos; Helena Hoen, Westfield, Indiana; grandsons: Nick Hoen (Jayne), Huntsville, Alabama; Allen Page, Lakewood, Colorado; Bill Hoen, Washington, D.C. area; Bryce Hoen, Blacksburg, Virginia; Patrick and Liam Hoen, Westfield, Indiana; granddaughters: Alex Hoen, Washington, D.C. area; Elizabeth Harrach, Albuquerque; Allison Harrach, Los Alamos; and great-grandson Harry Hoen, Huntsville, Alabama.

A funeral service with interment will be scheduled with St. Andrews Catholic Church in Roanoke, Virginia, after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

The family extends a special thank you to Vista Hermosa in Santa Fe for their loving care of Myra during her last years in New Mexico. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that Myra be remembered with your contribution to Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Vista Hermosa or a musical organization or music program of your choice.

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