Mary Margaret Dungan

Mary Dungan of Chico, 92, passed away peacefully on January 21, 2022, with her daughter Susan by her side.  Born Mary Margaret Kellogg June 2, 1929, to Edward C. Kellogg, Sr. and Elsie (Drier) Kellogg in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  She attended local schools, studied at Marquette University, and graduated from Misericordia Nursing School in 1951.  As a young woman with an adventurous streak, she took her nursing degree across the country to Woodland, California.  There she met and married Charles (Chuck) Dungan, a watchmaker, and president of the 20-30 club, in 1953.  They started a family while Mary continued working as a nurse, a career she loved until she retired at age 80.  Over the years the family moved looking for the right place to settle down including the Bay Area, an almond ranch in Dunnigan, and then Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  Though she and Chuck divorced in 1980, they remained close, sharing family get-togethers for years.  Mary continued her nursing career in Hawaii then Southern California and finally moved to Chico to be near her family.  In Chico, she kept her skills sharp at Crestwood, Sierra Sunrise, and Riverside Convalescent Hospital where she retired as director of nursing.  She kept busy in her later years.  She was an avid reader and enjoyed ocean cruising, motorcycle trips, and sojourns to Reno with her companion Dick Brunswig until his passing in 2006.  The real joy in Mary’s life was her family.   Lovingly known as “Tutu” to family and friends, she was a caring and giving mother and grandmother.  Holidays and birthdays were especially important to Mary.  This is when she would gather her family around her to cook a big Thanksgiving feast, shower her grandkids with gifts at Christmas and share a delicious ice cream cake on birthdays.  Mary was preceded in death by her mother and father, her brother Edward Kellogg, Jr., ex-husband Charles Dungan and companion Dick Brunswig.  She is survived and will be forever missed by her sister Cleo Binzak of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, daughter Susan Kayson (Paul), son David Dungan (Mariza), grandchildren Robert Kayson (Samantha), Shannon Kayson Noel (Rene), Emily Kayson, Matthew Dungan, Kyle Dungan, and Hannah Dungan, stepsons Jim Shutz (Cindy) and John Shutz (Debbie), and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at Newton-Bracewell in Chico, at 11 AM, Saturday, February 26, 2022. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.