Margaret “Peggy” Derks Schmiedeler, 88, of Overland Park, Kansas, died May 12, 2024. Peggy was born January 16, 1936, in Glendale, California, to Harry and Margaret Bisbee. When she was a child, she moved from California to Fairway, Kansas, where she lived with her mom and grandparents, Herbert and Florence Trask. Peggy went to St. Agnes High School (now Bishop Miege), where she was a cheerleader and homecoming queen. She went to college at Mount St. Scholastica (now Benedictine) in Atchison, Kansas.
Peggy worked as a legal assistant before getting married and having five children with Theodore Derks. She loved playing bridge and tennis, sewing, going to the lake with her friends, and getting together with her friends at Daughters of the American Revolution. Peggy was a fabulous cook and hosted many bridge parties and holiday gatherings.
She celebrated all holidays with decorations and food, especially Christmas and Easter. She regularly hosted Christmas Eve dinners for her family and Easter egg hunts for her grandkids. She gave her kids and grandkids many holiday gift bags over the years and arranged one-on-one outings with each of them. She traveled often to New Jersey to visit her daughter Amy DiNunzio and her family.
After her children were grown, Peggy was remarried to Patrick Schmiedeler, worked at a bank, and finished her career at Sprint, where she worked in the graphic design department.
Peggy is predeceased by her parents, Margaret Bisbee and Harry Bisbee; and her son, Joe Derks. Peggy is survived by four daughters: Kate Mahoney (Bill), Sharon Walker, Amy DiNunzio (Steve), and Linda Derks. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren: Christine Kanatzar (Nick), John Mahoney (Krystal), Claire Hobbs (Chase), Jack Walker (Brooke), Elli Walker, Dan Walker, Abby Walker, Emma DiNunzio, Thomas DiNunzio, Natalie DiNunzio, and Charlotte DiNunzio; and 9 great-grandchildren.
Services are at Church of the Nativity, 3800 W. 119th Street, Leawood, Kansas, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Visitation is at 10 a.m., the funeral is at 11:00 a.m., and burial is immediately following at Resurrection Cemetery, 8321 Quivira Road, Lenexa, Kansas.
The family thanks the staff at Sharon Lane and Kansas City Hospice for their care of Peggy and suggests donations in lieu of flowers to The Mission Project, www.themissionproject.org.
