The Mackinac Island State Park Commission deeply mourns the passing of Richard Manoogian, who had served on the Commission since 1999. For much of his tenure on the Commission Manoogian served as Vice President. Among his many philanthropic endeavors was providing the funding for an art museum for Mackinac State Historic Parks in 2010, which the Commission named in his and his wife Jane’s honor.
Mackinac Island State Park Commission chair Daniel J. Loepp released the following statement on behalf of the Commission:
“Richard Manoogian was a giant among giants for Mackinac Island and the arts. For more than 30 years, he gave the island and the Mackinac Island State Park Commission his time, his counsel, and his generosity earning appointments from Governors Gretchen Whitmer, Rick Snyder, Jennifer Granholm, and John Engler. He believed that preserving the island’s history and protecting its beauty were one and the same and he devoted himself to both. That legacy lives on in The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum, where centuries of the island’s story are shared with every visitor. On behalf of the Commission, we extend our deepest sympathy to Jane and the Manoogian family, and we will honor Richard by carrying that work forward.”
Flags at all Mackinac State Historic Parks sites will be flown at half-staff through Monday, September 28.
