As a kid, Marie Donigan was always shy and a little scared.
The 50-year-old state representative, who was sworn in for her first term last week, said her mother's independent spirit had a tremendous influence in the adult Donigan has become.
Widowed twice, her mother spent many years as a working single parent.
"My mother...retired in 1980 from Troy High School. She was the last practicing Latin teacher in the state," Donigan recalled. "There was absolutely no question that I would work."
She didn't expect, however, to be still unmarried at age 35.
"I always thought it would be a good thing to have a life partner, but I wasn't driven about it," Donigan said. "I had a hard time...with college and then graduate school, until I found my way to Farmington Hills."
Employed as a landscape architect, Donigan settled in for the long haul. Having heard a minister's teaching about being in charge of her own happiness, she finally got comfortable with singlehood at age 35.
She bought a house, started to get involved in community activism. Anxious to improve her presentation skills for work, she joined Toastmasters. Took a karate class.
"I finally became a good single person," she said. "I didn't stop dating. I made better choices."
Her final choice was Kevin McLogan, president of the Royal Oak School Board. He served as her campaign manager, but may be a little worried about how much time his wife's new job will take away from them.
He'll likely travel to Lansing with her on days he's not working as a distribution center manager for the Detroit Newspaper Association. They attend each other's social events.
"We're really engaged in each other's volunteer stuff," Donigan added.
Juggling family (including two step-sons) and work won't be easy, especially since Donigan plans to come home from work every night.
"I'm coming home unless it's ridiculous. Lansing is where the work gets done, but my job is here."