On October 31, 2008, George-Ann Tognoni, passed as peacefully as she lived her life, but her work will grace this world for generations to come.

Link to Arizona Republic article: Memorial to the life of George-Ann Tognoni, An American Artist.

On the evening of October 31, 2008, George-Ann Tognoni died peacefully in her family's home from complications due to age. With her passing, Arizona loses a beloved sculptor whose work graces public venues across the Valley and in the Southwest. Her monument to wild horses - "The Yearlings" - at the entrance of the Scottsdale Civic Plaza has become an icon of free spirit in the American West. She was born February 18, 1920 in Fort Dodge, Iowa to Louie Neudeck and Eva Corey. On their farm, she and her sister Marjorie developed a life-long love of horses. She served in the Red Cross at the end of WWII in the Philippine Islands. There she met Hale Tognoni, who was an Army engineer. Not until after she returned home to Iowa and her studies at Iowa State University with sculptor Christian Pedersen, did Hale and George-Ann marry in Reno, Nevada, March 13, 1947. After Hale completed his law degree with the assistance of the G.I. Bill, they settled in 1953 with four children in Phoenix, Arizona, where a fifth child was born. Like many artists, she served as an artisan to help provide for her family before her sculpture gained recognition. She was a trained dressmaker and worked as a cartographer in her husband's mineral exploration company. Two years after Hale died in 1998, George-Ann suffered a stroke from which she recovered to complete and produce yet more public art work, including a memorial at the County Library in Gilbert and the Scott Memorial for the Scottsdale Historical Society. George-Ann is survived by all her children: Becky Lou Boudway, Brian Hale Tognoni, David Quentin Tognoni, Sandra Ann Hewitt, and Jeffrey R. Tognoni; by ten grandchildren: Matthew, Ira and Wally Boudway; Dayle Ward and her brothers Gary and Wesley Tognoni, Winston Hewitt, and Nicolas, Cassandra, and Corbin Tognoni; by two great-grandchildren: Hadrian and Angus Ward; and by one nephew: Karl Montgomery of Omaha, Nebraska, She was preceded in death by her grandson Nathan Tognoni. A Memorial Service will be held 6:00 PM, Monday, November 3, 2008 at Paradise Memorial Gardens Mausoleum Chapel, 9300 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, Arizona, with a catered reception to follow. Contributions may be made in her name to: American Red Cross, Central Arizona Chapter, 6135 N. Black Canyon Hwy., Phoenix, AZ 85015.