Margaret Crissman Funkhouser

Born Sept 9, 1930, in a suburb of Pittsburgh, she was the eldest daughter of Lyall and Katherine Crissman. Bright at birth. All that was left to mold was character, and since the biggest transformation of her father’s life had been a ‘son-of-a-preacher’s scholarship’ to Gettysburg College, he was as keen on education as on their Lutheran brand of low-fuss, self-effacing pragmatism.

At 12, Peggy could change a tire. At 16, she balanced his books, and #2 in her class at Mt. Lebanon High, she rode with Lyall across Pennsylvania’s new turnpike to get a ‘peek’ at Wellesley College.

Four years later, she graduated with honors in Int’l Affairs from Wellesley, and within months, wound up at Princeton working for Gallup, a job whose chief requirement was to politely pretend not to notice Einstein on his daily rounds.

But however modern her early trajectory, it all paused on a storied ‘date’ with Bob Funkhouser that not only clipped her wings, but plopped them back in Pittsburgh with his job, their kids, and a GI mortgage.

Located on a dead-end street, the house backed onto a Boy Scout Reservation. It was a ‘60s Garden of Eden. Half the neighbors had kids. Others had pools. Everybody was everybody’s best friend. The job of child rearing was as easy as opening the screen door in the morning and letting the odors of Dr. Gilmore’s grill remind everyone it was time to come home.

Add dream vacations with neighbors to Hyannisport and Aspen it was fairy-tale. Peggy’s laughter was legendary -- audible to neighbors on both sides. But all that ended in 1970, when Bob was offered a job to run the West Coast Office of BBDO.

No one wanted to move! However, after touring 60 houses from Palos Verdes to Pasadena, Peggy struck gold again when a realtor met her a mile up Mandeville Canyon. Answering the door was one of the Doublemint Twins, and when they signed papers at Brentwood’s Country Mart, they sat next to Gregory Peck.

From the beginning, all systems were ‘go.’ Most notably for Bob, who not only ‘traded up’ to run Carnation’s advertising, but with it, locked down a lifetime membership at the Los Angeles Country Club and near-permanent berths at every major ‘pro-am’ golf tournament west of the Rockies. He and Peggy traveled extensively with their vast array of LA friends who took over from their beloved neighbors in Fox Chapel.

By any standard, it was a ‘lucky’ life. Yet, Peggy was driven from birth to make a difference in the lives of those in need. In LA, she served as President of the Junior League and the Wellesley Club. At CORO, she made friends with some of LA’s current leadership, including Jack Flannigan, and lifelong friends David and Brenda Abel.

With ARCO’s Lloyd Dennis, she founded Performing Tree. On a dare from David Abel, she founded the Los Angeles Educational Partnership (LAEP), which celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2024; her daughter Lisë accepted Peggy’s LAEP Founder Award when Peggy was 94 and beaming. Other Founder awards went to Peggy’s long-time friends and colleagues, David Abel, Rod Hamilton and Vernon Jordan. At her 2nd retirement party from LAEP, Virgil Roberts called her “the Rosa Parks of education in Los Angeles.”

In addition to co-founding LAEP, Peggy consulted for Public Education Network and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support development of small high schools in LAUSD. Peggy served as the Chair of Project Grad LA, Co-Chair of the Visiting Committee of Cal Arts Community Partnership, Board Member of CORO LA, CORO National, Cotsen Foundation, Institute for Educational Advancement, United Way, KCET, LA’s BEST, Performing Tree and LA36.

Ask Peggy’s family, friends or colleagues to describe her and their answers would stray no more than two degrees outside the range her doting father had aimed at: Tireless, selfless and never happier when the limelight fell to others; incapable of malice, and not once did anyone hear her complain. Her compass pointed north; amidst the grind and chaos of L.A. Unified, Peggy’s mission was to improve the lives of those in need while mentoring the way for countless others. Peggy outlasted 11 LAUSD Superintendents. And yet no matter how busy Peggy was, if a family member was in need, Peggy dropped everything.

Peggy is survived by her three children: Lisë Funkhouser Paul, Robert Funkhouser Jr, Kristen Funkhouser Pierce, son-in-law, Kent Pierce and daughter-in-law, Angelika Funkhouser; grandchildren Niko Funkhouser, Greta Funkhouser, Nell Pierce, Luke Pierce, Ricki Pierce and great-grandson Nino Funkhouser. To all her family, she’ll continue being what she’s always been – ‘the voice in our heads.’

In lieu of flowers, the family requests you consider donating to Los Angeles Educational Partnership (LAEP) by visiting www.laep.org/donate