Margaret Jean Dau

She was a loving wife, mother of five, grandmother of 11, great-grandmother of 14 and a great-great-grandmother of one.

Margaret was born in Davenport, Iowa, on June 13th, 1931, to Mary and Robert Peters, the second youngest of two sisters and 6 brothers. Part of her early years were spent living on 5th street where she and some of her siblings would collect bits of coal that were expelled by passing steam trains to help heat their house in the wintertime. She faithfully attended school and Zion Lutheran Church, which would prove very fortuitous, and graduated from Davenport High School in 1950.

She was married for more than 74 years to her devoted husband Charles who she met through the choir at Zion. They quickly fell in love and were married on September 7th, 1951 at Zion. They started a family shortly thereafter which eventually grew to five children, Michael, Steven, Thomas, Debra and Brad.

Margaret was a true matriarch and from humble beginnings, knew the value of education and ensured all of her children went to school, even when it was 30 below! She loved watching her children compete in sports, be it baseball, softball, football, basketball, track or bowling. She was the consummate homemaker for many years, always making sure everyone was fed and clothed – shoes were very important! – before working in food service for the Davenport School District for more than 15 years and retiring in 1992.

She loved visits from all of her progeny and enjoyed taking pictures with them whenever they would visit. She enjoyed collecting Precious Moments, Longaberger, and Isabel Bloom creations. She was also an avid Iowa Hawkeye fan, particularly the women’s basketball program and she and Charles would schedule their days so they could watch as many games as possible.

Margaret was preceded in death by her parents and all of her siblings and by sons Michael and Steven.

Those left to celebrate her life include her husband Charles, daughters-in-law Pamela (Michael) Dau and Sandra (Steven) Dau, Thomas (Diane) Dau, Debra (Brett) Hart and Brad (Janice) Dau, along with grandchildren Andrew Dau, Benjamin (Dani) Dau, Caitlin (Benjamin) King, Shannon Speth (Nate Lord), Andrea Dau, Wesley (Mary) Dau, Ashley (Matthew) Fuld, Erin (Andrew) Johnston, Erica Hart (Aiden Aranda Bradbury), Marijane Dau and Henry (Sarah) Dau, and great-grandchildren Emory, Malachi, Theo, Callum, Hayley, Alex, Quinn, Max, Ellie, Jules, Evie, Sam, Amado and Milagro and great-great-granddaughter Adalee.

There will be a visitation beginning at 10 am and funeral services will be held on at 11 am on Friday December 19th, 2025, at Zion Lutheran Church, 1216 W 8th Street, Davenport Iowa 58202. A luncheon will follow immediately after in Fellowship Hall. Interment will be at Davenport Memorial Park.

Donations may be made in Margaret’s honor to the family or to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Margaret-Mom-Grandma: We all love you very much and will miss you dearly, and we know that you are at peace and can rest after a wonderful life here on earth.