Mary Elizabeth (Ogden) Capogrossa

Mary Elizabeth Ogden Capogrossa, age 71, of Grand Marais, died at her home on Friday, August 8, 2025, surrounded by love and her family. She was born Sept 15, 1953 in Lake Charles, Louisiana and resided in Lafayette Louisiana until graduating from high school. Her family spent summers in her mother’s (Janet Mulligan Ogden) hometown of Grand Marais MI.

After graduating from high school in 1971, Mary moved to Detroit and she and her best friend Denise Autin did volunteer work at a church there. She then resided in Palmer for some time and in 1980 she was spending the summer in her family’s Grand Marais vacation home. She met an old summer friend, Enrico (Rick) Capogrossa. They went to the Band Stand at the bank of Grand Marais Bay, where there were nightly street dances each summer. They found their initials carved from more than a decade before. After, a Friday night dinner date when Mary only had an order of French Fries and cup of coffee at Alverson’s All You Can Eat Fish Fry and then a weekend of shopping with her inseparable sister, Jan Carol Ogden, at all of Marquette’s Good Will Stores rather than Macy’s, she was proposed to a week later and then married on Aug 30th of that summer.

The newlyweds moved to Lafayette for just 9 months. The heat became intolerable and by May 1st, they were destined back to Grand Marais. It would become their permanent home.

Mary was one of the community’s most industrious women. She and Rick would volunteer work at Munising’s Food Coop their first couple years and worked to get the whole foods delivered to Grand Marais where people could pick up their food orders at the kitchen of The Superior Hotel; then later the community center. She worked at Alverson’s Motel cleaning rooms and became the cottage keeper for over a quarter century for legendary author and screenplay writer Jim Harrison. In 1990, she began working as a full-time secretary for North Coast Real Estate (her husband believed she knew more about real estate than anyone in town), and for over 30 years she co-edited and typeset for their 2 publications (Grand Marais Pilot & Pictured Rocks Review and Great Lakes Pilot); the later became a top Michigan Travel Mag. She accomplished all this while raising a family of 5 children then 4 after her oldest son Trevor was swept off Grand Marais’ Pier in 1992. Her readers and several Great Lakes Captains and Great Lakes Artists would call only to become more enlightened by her knowledge of Great Lakes Lore, Freighters and Shipwrecks.

For a break from all her Great Lakes readings, and besides author Jim Harrison, her favorite authors were James Mitchener and Larry McMurtry. She loved history, especially of the old west. She also was a Burt Township School Board Member for some years and was presented a plaque for her service by Michigan’s Governor when she was president of Grand Marais Women’s Club.

During the past 11 years, and no longer a cabin cleaner or real estate secretary, she and her husband operated Grand Marais’ Superior Hotel which also became the new Pilot House. She forever told her hotel guests “Rick had great job security after being served her coffee in bed each morning”.

She refused to have a cell phone, but a cute story was when she used Jan Carol’s phone! She was so excited to have found her husband a very new Detroit Lions jacket. “I found your Father’s Day gift and can’t wait for you to see it” she told him. She had left the price tag on it. It said $7.95. When the tag was noticed, she was so happy to say, “it was Seniors Day at the Goodwill, so I really bought it for half that price” She was absolutely the thriftiest of shoppers, which was helpful after losing a 17 year family business when opening 7 real estate offices. Her model came from the book, “Living Poor In Style”!

She was the best dancer her husband ever danced with, and she could sing “Pave Paradise and put up a Parking Lot” better than Joni Mitchell and loved to sing with Emmylou Harris. She knew nothing about hockey and then became a hockey mom and when the Red Wings went on their 25 year playoff stretch, she rarely missed a game. Her hobby of hobbies was Agate Picking (most call it Agate Hunting). She and Jan Carol and a friend or two would leave each Sunday morning if possible and not return until day’s end. Like a fisherwoman, she never told anyone where they’d been or maybe would respond by saying Leland or Lake Huron.

The last movie she partially saw and listened to while enduring her insidious disease of Pancreatic Cancer was her all-time favorite, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. And, the last two songs played for her was Bob Dylan’s Precious Angel and Jackson Browne’s Before the Deluge!

Mary is preceded in death by her parents, Park and Janet Ogden, sister, Candace Smyth and son, Trevor Capogrossa.

She is survived by her husband, Rick Capogrossa, children, Dylan (Nichole) Capogrossa, Candace (Brian) Prill, Ashleigh (Ryan) Jones and Hunter (Kelsey) Capogrossa, her 11 grand children, Paitten, Lucy, Trevor, Sofi, William, Charlotte, Bella, Althea, John, Lily and Henri and 2 great grand kids, Luke and Kayson, her two sisters, Jan Carol Ogden and Karen Kirby, along with many nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and friends.

Services will be held on Saturday, September 20, 2025. Visiting time with family and friends will be at the Grand Marais Christian Church, N14226 M-77 in Grand Marais from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. A celebration of Mary's life will take place at the Superior Hotel following the service.

In lieu of flowers, the Capogrossa family would love to put a bench in the pickle barrel garden and/or down at the pier by Trevor and Chad’s memorial, in honor of her love, strength and perseverance. Any donations made will go towards a memorial of that type for Mary.