Martha Rebecca McKneely Hogg passed from this life into the presence of her Lord and Savior in her Eternal home on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 3:50 am. She finished her race after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis and was welcomed Home with “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
A memorial service and celebration of Rebecca’s life will be held at The Bridge Community Church on Saturday, April 15, at 10:00 a.m. Visitation will be from 9-10 am prior to the service. A graveside service will be held at a later date at the Tulip Cemetery in Claiborne Parish.
A native of Ruston, Louisiana, Rebecca was born on August 12, 1949. She was a 1967 graduate of Ruston High School and a 1971 graduate of Louisiana Tech University with a degree in journalism. While at Tech, Rebecca met the only love of her life, Bill Hogg. They were married for over 52 years.
Following her graduation from Louisiana Tech, Rebecca began her journalism career at The Ruston Daily Leader as the Women’s Page Editor and feature writer. She also worked in public relations for the Lincoln General Hospital, publishing both an internal and an external publication. This was followed by a time with the Alumni News publication of Louisiana Tech University. She and Bill lived in Galveston and Houston, Texas before returning to Ruston in 1978.
The greatest accomplishment and joy of her life was becoming the mother of her two children, Jeffrey and Meredith.
In 1985, Bill and Rebecca joined thirteen other local families in planting Christ Community Church, an independent Bible church in Ruston, Louisiana. Having always had a desire to join God in His global purpose to reach all nations and peoples, in 2001 they left the States to serve with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Their initial four year commitment in Central Asia turned into fifteen years with the IMB, first in Central Asia and later in Virginia before retirement. Rebecca and Bill returned to Ruston in 2016.
For almost five decades, Rebecca was an outspoken voice for the Right to Life effort, counseling young women and men in the first crisis pregnancy center in Ruston. She returned to that work in 2016 at Life Choices. Her passionate belief was that from conception of the tiniest preborn to the preservation of the dignity of the oldest, every life is significant and carries the image of God Himself. She advocated that belief in all her counseling.
At the Bridge Community Church, where she and Bill were members, she was involved in women’s ministry, a women’s college group leader, and enjoyed mentoring and discipling younger women until her health would no longer permit.

There are some things Rebecca wanted everyone to know:
1. That she as a great sinner who was rescued, saved and forgiven by a Greater Savior.
2. How thankful she is for each of you and the love you have shown to both her and to Bill in the last few years. There is nothing like the love relationships in the Body of Christ.
3. That even though Christ’s sacrificial death was sufficient for all mankind, every person must accept His gift of salvation personally.
4. Christ Jesus is her greatest gift from God. She certainly did not deserve her second greatest gift, her husband Bill, who was like ‘Jesus with Skin on’ loving her unconditionally and sacrificially for over fifty years.
5. From the day she committed her life to follow Jesus, she never turned or looked back. Her determined purpose was to know Him, to progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him and wonders of His Person.
6. That she never blamed her Father God for the grief, disappointment, pain, sorrows, or any loss of relationships she faced in life.

Rebecca would like to be remembered as:
1. A woman who early in her life in Christ was committed to the Scriptures, depending on them daily as the only way to grow as a believer. She delighted in both personal and corporate worship of her Father God.
2. A woman who did not withhold anything from anyone if she was able and it was in her power to do something.
3. A woman who had a sincere desire to leave no unresolved or broken relationship behind and to be at peace with everyone, as she was able, before she left this earth.
4. That her eternal future was not contingent upon any circumstance of debilitating disease. The certainty of spending eternity with Jesus far exceeded any hope that a new and healthy lung could have provided.
5. A woman who was not only a follower of Christ, but also as a true disciple, committed to lifelong learning and obedient to sharing the gospel regularly with strangers as well as with those she knew and loved.
6. That for Rebecca, Christianity was not only her religion but also an integral part of her worldview-a filter through which she saw and responded to the world around her intellectually, morally, spiritually and emotionally. This life system answers life’s most significant questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? What has gone wrong with our world? What can be done to fix it? The Biblical Worldview best answers those questions logically and validates thousands of years of history. It gives purpose and meaning to life and affirms God as Creator and the Source of All Truth.
Officiating at the service will be long time friends Jeff Harper, Wayne Smith, Chris Hanchey, and John Morgan. Music will be provided by Chris Hanchey and Random Kennedy. Honorary Pall Bearers are Bill Autrey, Jerry Dingler, Danny Graham, Ronny McKneelyJr., Bob Packman, Whit Smith, Henry Watts, and Rodney Wood.
Rebecca was welcomed into heaven by those who preceded her in death-her parents, E. Leighton McKneely and Lucille Jackson McKneely, brother David Jackson McKneely and sister Elizabeth June Morgan.
She is survived by her husband, Billie Lamar Hogg of Ruston; one son, Jeffrey Leighton Hogg and wife Shannon of Lacombe, LA; one daughter, Meredith Lamar Davis and husband Jeremy of Savannah, GA; five grandchildren, Leighton Miles Davis, Madden Rebecca Davis, Miller McMurry Davis, Ellie Grace Hogg and Silas James Hogg; one brother, Ronald Keith McKneely of Ruston, and several nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank her pulmonologist Dr. Ronald Hammett of Monroe; Dr. Mark Blackwelder and Kim Edmiston of Ruston; Premier Hospice; Tender Touch sitter service; and Bob Hearn of Kilpatrick’s for their kind care and encouragement through Rebecca’s home-going.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to one of the following: Alzheimer’s Association; Bridges International; International Mission Board of the SBC; Life Choices of Ruston; or Voice of the Martyrs.

To send flowers to the family or place a tree in memory of Martha Rebecca McKneely Hogg, please visit our Tribute Store.