Flint, MI – The horse racing world was very saddened to learn that Margaret (Mugsie) Rousseau passed away suddenly at her home in Flint, Michigan, on Thursday, June 18. Her sister, Barb, had coined her unusual nickname when they were kids. Family teased Barb about Bugs in her hair, and with the M initial for Margaret, Barb started calling her Mugs.
Following high school at Saginaw St. Andrew, Mugs graduated from Beauty School, and worked in the hairdressing field for a short time; but soon returned to her chosen career, racing harness horses.
Mugs raced all over the country, for many years with the Eddie Morgan stable, and will be sorely missed by the many horsemen friends she made all along the way. She grew up racing at the Michigan fairs with her Dad and brother, Dave. Later, moving on to pari-mutuel tracks in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Canada, and even Denver, Colorado. She relocated to the Flint area in the 90s to race at Sports Creek Raceway. She had over 1,000 training wins just since 1991, when USTA started keeping statistics. She had a namesake horse Mugsie R. and even drove at a few fairs back in the 70s. Her two favorite horses were Pearl’s Johnny and Quick Step.
She always had a good word and a smile for everyone she met in her many travels, and always had positive comments on friends’ Facebook posts. Her favorite activity in recent years was gifting friends with her delicious homemade cookies. She also loved watching all sports, races from almost every track, and kept a close eye on entries and results of everyone’s horses.
Mugs leaves behind sister, Barb; brother, Dave; faithful dog, Ava; and, of course, her wide circle of friends. Also surviving are sister-in-law, Cathy Rousseau; brother-in-law, Bob Ferens; many nieces and nephews; and many great nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, Dorothy and Bob Rousseau; sister, Mary Ann; brother, Charlie; and brother-in-law, Mort Tomasov.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be directed to the New Vocations Racehorse Adoption program at www.newvocations.org.
To view the Lehman Funeral Homes obituary, click here.