Obituary of Michael Richard Hugger

In Memory of Michael R. Hugger Dr. Michael Hugger, a patriot and a beloved husband and father, died Saturday, February 13, from complications of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Hugger is survived by his wife of 34 years, Janet Petersen Hugger, and their three children: son Thomas and daughter Jacqueline (of Ashburn) and daughter Courtney (of Chicago) his sister, Margaret McMahon (of D.C.), niece Patricia McMahon, and nephews Christopher McMahon, Timothy McMahon and Peter McMahon. Also surviving are nephews Erik Johanson, Stephen Petersen, Michael Petersen, Benjamin Mol, Joshua Mol and nieces Kristen Petersen and Alyssa Mol. Michael often said that his focus on science was magnified by the challenge of the Russian Sputnik I in 1957. He subsequently earned degrees in electrical engineering from Cornell (B.S.), Stanford (M.S.), and his Ph.D. from George Washington University. He proudly served our country's intelligence service as a scientist for nearly 40 years. He was awarded the military command medal for civilian service in Vietnam in 1969-70. He also received the Intelligence Commendation medal from the Director for Central Intelligence for exceptional achievements. He enjoyed the outdoors as an avid jogger and also as a mountain climber, joining a bird expedition in Nepal, and finally scaling to the peak of Mt. Orizaba in Mexico. Dr. Hugger was actively involved with youth sports and volunteered as a basketball and soccer coach for his children's teams. He belonged to the YMCA's Indian Guides and Princesses programs as "Brave Puma", eventually holding the post of Federation Chief of the Northern Virginia chapter. When he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2009, he was determined to help bring about a cure and volunteered for clinical trials research with the Georgetown Univ. Medical Center's Memory Disorders Program. He also stipulated that he wanted to participate the brain research program at Georgetown with donation of his body for a research autopsy. The Hugger family extends their gratitude to the staff of Great Falls Assisted Living for seeing to Michael's care with loving concern and a wealth of experience during his last two years there.