Peggy Gilmer Piasecki

Peggy Adams Gilmer Piasecki, 71, of Jackson, Mississippi, died April 26, 2015. She left this world as she lived in it, with unwavering love and concern for her family and friends and surrounded by her adoring family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Elva Earl Bell Adams and Wiley Albert Adams, with whom she began her life in rural Leake County where she was baptized at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. She is survived by her husband, Edmund Joseph Piasecki, Jr., of Jackson; two children, Dr. Chris Gilmer and husband David Creel of Jackson and Holly Gilmer Collums and husband Webb Collums of Jackson; two beloved granddaughters, Hannah Collums and Emma Collums of Jackson; one sister, Patsy Hicks of Ridgeland; two children by marriage, Edmund Piasecki, III and wife Joanna Carpe of Des Moines, IA, and Charlotte Piasecki Britt and husband Ty Britt of Virginia Beach, Virginia; five grandchildren by marriage, Jacob and Jacqueline Piasecki and Marcus, Alaina, and Patrick Britt; and many other relatives and friends.

Peggy was a Renaissance woman in the truest sense of the word. She could do almost anything, and she could do it well. She was an award-winning writer, successful business owner, and active community volunteer. She particularly supported education, arts, and programs to feed the homeless. Peggy was a maverick who fought against the oppressive conventions of the time of her birth to nurture family and friends spanning race, social status, sexual orientation, religion and other boundaries—lines which she considered artificial and counter-productive to a just society. As a career woman in the era of the “glass ceiling” for women, she advocated for equality in the workplace and reared her family to respect and to celebrate differences in people as much as their similarities.

Peggy was a wife, a sister, and a friend who was dedicated to excellence in every role she filled, but if you asked her to define herself in one word, it would have been “mother.” She bore two children to whom she was fiercely devoted and was an inspirational “Grand Peggy” to her grandchildren, and she unofficially adopted many other children along the way. To all of them, she unselfishly gave the gift of her abiding love.

She chose to be cremated and to return to the dust from whence she came. The family will receive visitors at Parkway Funeral Home in Ridgeland from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on April 28 and 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with a memorial service to follow in the chapel at 12:30 p.m. on April 29.

Peggy’s family extends its deep gratitude to everyone who loved and supported our beloved matriarch and us during her beautiful life and in the season of her passing.