Loyola M Peddicord

Loyola McCarthy Peddicord died July 13th, 2022 surrounded by family. She is survived by her daughters Karen Peddicord Lane and Jane Ann Peddicord, her sons-in-law John Jay Lane and John Edwin Luecke, five grandchildren Gwendolyn Ann Peddicord Luecke, Kevin James Peddicord Luecke, Thomas Jay Lane and his fiancée Elizabeth Lauren Hoeninghaus, Kathryn Loyola Lane Gray and her husband Andrew Jacob Gray, Christopher Kelly Lane and his wife Hollie Ann Butterfield Lane, two great grandchildren, Riley Lane Gray and Lily Jean Lane, and fourteen nieces and nephews.

The third of four children, Loyola was born on April 16, 1929. Her parents, Bridget Giblin and Martin McCarthy immigrated from Ireland, counties Sligo and Mayo, and were married in New York City in 1924. The family was close, and Loyola maintained loving and supportive lifelong relationships with her siblings, Mary Emily, Florence, and Martin. Born during the depression, Loyola felt fortunate to have grown up in New York’s culturally rich upper West side, and greatly valued the education she received at Corpus Christi and Hunter High schools. She also proudly recounted the numerous jobs she held throughout her teens, in homes, bookstores, restaurants, resorts, and Carol Janeway’s ceramics studio.

Loyola changed her life in 1946, leaving New York with her best friend Evelyn and traveling a thousand miles west to study art in the land of Grant Wood at the University of Iowa. A talented artist, she had an excellent hand and enjoyed drawing and painting, experimenting in water colors, acrylics, and printmaking. She was also drawn to study the beauty and logic of mathematics.

One evening, on a lark with friends, she crawled through the kitchen window of a fraternity house, and landed in front of a surprised young man named Thomas Lee Peddicord. They were married on April 14, 1951, just before graduating. The Korean War was heating up, so Thomas enlisted in the Air Force and the couple moved to Biloxi, Mississippi where Loyola held her first teaching job and the couple had their first daughter, Karen. Thomas went on to complete officer’s training, and two years and several moves later they had their second daughter, Jane Ann, at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

The family spent the war years stationed in Germany before leaving the service in 1956. Returning to the University of Iowa, Thomas completed a master’s degree in communications and Loyola said her many duties as wife and mother included providing taxi, typing, and tutorial services. She returned to teaching art when the family settled in Cedar Rapids, where Loyola thoroughly enjoyed the lovely Iowa landscape, friendships made, and occasional bridge game.

Loyola and Thomas moved to Dallas, Texas in 1973, and in 1979 Loyola completed a master’s degree in mathematics. She taught math at the Arts Magnet High School, which she felt combined her love of math, art, and teaching. She retired in 1989 and continued to actively participate in her creative arts community and growing family life.

Loyola was loved for her strength, wit, intelligence, self-expression, and ever-present aesthetic sense. She had a strong regard for human dignity, was an advocate for the rights of women, and spoke forcefully against injustice. Loyola gave freely of her love, time, and support. She was a generous and loving force of life. Her family will treasure her spirit dearly.