Margaret peg E Evans Ferry

FERRY, Margaret Darling (Peg) Evans, Ed.D., 98, died May 15, 2014 in Clearwater, Florida. She was born June 19, 1915 to William A. D. and Margaret Isabel (Sharkey) Evans in New York City. She spent her very early years in NYC, moving later to Summit, New Jersey and graduating from Kent Place School. She attended Smith College for two years, until her education was interrupted by a back injury. While undergoing treatment in NYC, she attended the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School and worked as a John Robert Powers model. Following graduation from "Katie Gibbs," she worked at the Johnson O'Connor Human Engineering Laboratory in Hoboken, NJ in the early days of aptitude testing.

In 1937 Peg married the late John Stiger Ferry. The family lived in East Orange and then Short Hills, NJ for several years, until a job change took them to southeastern Pennsylvania. In 1948 they settled into a deserted 1850s farmhouse on 35 acres in Bucks County, PA. There Peg embraced country life and the Pennsylvania Dutch farming community, raising Shelties (a childhood dream), milking goats, and shearing sheep. She helped to organize a PTA and a local library. Her life was deeply affected by the accidental death of her four-year-old son Jack in 1949.

Having identified the need for an Episcopal church in the Hilltown area, Peg helped to recruit a fledgling congregation, which held its first service in the farmhouse living room in February 1953 and grew to become the present Good Shepherd Episcopal Church. As her children grew older, she joined forces with Bucks County Enterprises, the new family business in Quakertown. Bucksco manufactured and sold hospital and restaurant equipment made of aircraft aluminum. Peg excelled in her role as manufacturer's rep and was a major contributor to the company's success.

After the marriage ended in 1966 Peg resumed her formal education, completing her bachelor's and master of social work degrees. She moved to the Poconos and worked for the Health and Hospital Planning Council of NE PA. She delighted both in her work and in the beautiful scenery and local wildlife. She hiked and biked and cross-country skied with her dogs. She was involved in the anti-war movement and marched in protest of the Vietnam war. With fellow members of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, she was an advocate for the poor and disadvantaged in the downtown community and worked to found St. Stephen's REACH Ministry.

During this time Peg was diagnosed with a progressive neuromuscular disease. She enrolled again in graduate school and for the next several years commuted to Philadelphia (a four-hour round trip) two or three days a week for her course work and research. Her dissertation was entitled "Physicians' knowledge of prescribing for the elderly." In 1984 she was awarded her doctorate in Health Care Education at the age of 69 by Temple University. She continued her work in the field of maternal and child welfare in northeastern Pennsylvania until her retirement to Florida in 1990.

In her new home in the Tampa Bay area, Peg studied Spanish, swam in the ocean, and learned to email and to use the Internet. She visited her sister-in-law in Sarasota, and she enjoyed entertaining her many visitors from "up north," taking them to her favorite beaches, to Busch Gardens, and to eat fresh shrimp at Paul's in Tarpon Springs. She sent Key limes to her daughters with her recipe for "Lazy Lady Key Lime Pie." She plunged into life and activities at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and made many new friends there. She put heart and soul, much wisdom, and many hours into her volunteer work as guardian ad litem for children who were subjects of custody disputes. She was honored by Pinellas County for her contribution to the welfare of these chuldren.

She was an enthusiastic traveler, having visited five or six continents, including Australia. On an African safari she signed up for a hot air balloon ride. She was captivated by her visit to Cuba. When her luggage was lost enroute to China, she replaced her missing clothing by purchasing and happily wearing a Mao-type blue two-piece suit, the standard uniform of the Communist Chinese at the time. She was thrilled to be able to take her granddaughter with her on one of her last overseas travels, a cruise through Scandinavia to St. Petersburg.

Due to the progressive nature of her disability, Peg made the decision to move from her home in Palm Harbor into the Bayview Gardens retirement community. She remained actively involved for many years in church and community, serving on the Resident Council and leading activities at Bayview, and enjoying visits to and from family around the country. As her health continued to fail, she moved to the Harbourwood Health & Rehab Center, where she spent her last few years.

Peg had planned for her funeral many years ago and had anticipated that her family and friends would appreciate the wisdom and the joy of the hymns and readings she had selected.

She was preceded in death by her son, John Stiger Ferry, Jr. and her brother, RADM William A. Evans. She is survived by her three daughters, Dr. Sandra (Dr. Helmut) Ammon, Dr. Joan E. Ferry, and Lee (Dr. Charles) Wohlers (the Rev. Margaret Lee Ferry); five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and two nieces.

The family would like to express their gratitude to Peg's many friends and caregivers who provided love, support and encouragement to her for so many years. They want to give special and heartfelt thanks to Sally and Maurice for their dedication, devotion, and faithful visits; to the clergy and lay visitors of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and Bethel Presbyterian Church for their kindness and faithfulness; and to the caring staffs at Bayview and Harbourwood for their compassionate and loving care.

A memorial service will be held at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Clearwater, Florida on Saturday, November 1, at 1:00 p.m., followed by interment in the Church Memorial Garden. The family will greet friends at a reception following the service.

If desired, the family suggests donations in Peg's memory to one of the following, each of which was very close to Peg's heart:

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 3200 McMullen Booth Rd., Clearwater, FL 33761

Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 1634 Hilltown Pike, Hilltown, PA 18927

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church REACH Ministry, 35 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre, PA,18701

Plan International USA, 155 Plan Way, Warwick, RI, 02886 (planusa.org)

Heifer International (Donor Services) P.O. Box 8058, Little Rock, AR 72203 (heifer.org