Royce Andrew Hoggard

Royce Andrew Hoggard, age 73 of Charlotte, Michigan, died peacefully at home on Thursday, January 15, 2026. He was born on December 6, 1952, in Oshawa, Ontario to Maurice and Ellouise (Johnston) Hoggard. He lived in the Port Perry and Oshawa area until moving to London, Ontario in 1972 to study manufacturing engineering and metallurgy at Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology.  It was there that he met his wife Margaret (MacNeill) through mutual friends, at a Valentine’s Day dance, which she took as a sign their union was meant to be.

Somehow, a decision was made that they would marry (though it was never clear which one proposed). Their union was solidified in July 1975 to coincide with her graduation from Fanshawe. She supported him through his final year of college, and she often commented, “He’s been paying me back ever since.” Their greatest blessing was the birth of their son, Andrew Hoggard, in 1977. The young family soon settled in Strathroy, Ontario, where their family was greatly enhanced when Margaret’s teenage sister Heather joined them during her high school years.

Royce started his career in manufacturing engineering, transitioning to his calling of “quality guy” in 1980.  Like many young men of his era, he was bedeviled by the double-digit interest rates, workplace instability, and runaway inflation of the times. With quiet determination and hard work, he not only advanced in his career but also managed to earn post-Masters status through part time studies. Between 1980 and 1992, he completed the joint Business and Administration program through the Canadian Institute of Management/University of Western Ontario, and earned numerous credentials, including every certification offered by the American Quality Society at the time up to Certified Quality Manager. 

Between 1992 and 1994, Royce was part of a startup team that established an American branch of his Canadian company, serving as Director of Quality. Royce moved to the Eaton County region of Michigan in 1993 with his wife and son, where he immediately fell in love with the State.  When his commitment to the project ended, he was offered an opportunity to work for an international accrediting body, SGS, as a lead auditor. This also necessitated continuous education, and his particular focus became manufacturing and environmental systems QS and ISO auditing.  He traveled extensively, doing audits primarily in North America and Mexico, but also in South America, Europe, and Asia. During these years, in 2007, he also became an American citizen, which he considered one of his greatest blessings.

Royce lived by humble and deep Christian beliefs. Being a quality and environmental systems auditor was his vocation: upholding standards that would ensure products were safe for consumers using secure environmental practices fulfilled him spiritually as well as professionally. Although almost perfect, Royce’s love of his work contributed to his most serious fault: he was a workaholic. In fact, his wife said on their 50th anniversary that they had actually only been married for 20 years because of his frequent travel. 

After his retirement in 2018, this fault turned into a serious addiction to model trains. Gradually, he let go of his other interests – aquariums, carpentry, learning to play the piano – as he became consumed by his new-found habit. However, this addiction also led him to meet many new friends when he joined local and national clubs and took part in train shows in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Before long, Terry Davis introduced him to Andy Keeney and his Nashville Road group. Soon, working (or was that playing?) on model train activities with Nashville Road brought him his greatest joy. During his final illness, this incredible group of men supported and encouraged him and gave him the strength and hope to keep fighting to the very end. Royce’s family is very grateful to them for all they did to help them during this difficult time and for their continued support of the family after his death.

The family feels truly blessed by many people for their prayers and support throughout Royce’s courageous battle with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer.  At this time, they offer thanks to those people, who along with members of the Nashville Road, helped make it possible for him to die peacefully at home. These include Jamie Curtis, Reverend Susan Sparks, Royce’s cousin Marie Wilson and her friends, Sandra Field (aka “the Prayer Lioness”), the Sparrow Hospice at Home, and the kind people at Palmer, Bush, & Jensen – Holt Chapel. 

Royce was preceded in death by his parents, Maurice and Ellouise Hoggard, and his uncles, Leonard Johnston and Wallace Johnston. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, his son Andrew Hoggard (Shannon Vanderhorst), and two grandsons and one granddaughter. Royce is also survived by his sister Marilynn, whose single act of cruelty towards him was to step on his fingers when he was learning how to crawl. His aunts Fern Johnston and Lynda Barney, and his cousins Marie (Ron), Ed (Carolyn), Lori (Sam), and Melanie (Paul) also survive him, as do his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Neil and Gillian (Dibb) MacNeill and Heather and Laurent MacNeill-Pennacchio, along with three nieces and two nephews.

With the help of the Nashville Road group (who may not know what they’re in for), an informal “celebration of life and model trains” will be held here in Michigan. A more formal funeral service, with Reverend Keith Sweeting officiating, will take place in Ontario, where Royce will be interred in a Hoggard family plot. The dates for both events are yet to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation© or to the charity of your choice.

Royce is in the care of Palmer, Bush, & Jensen – Holt Chapel. Cremation has taken place