Peggy DeMaris

Waukee

Peggy DeMaris, 86, passed away on February 5, 2016 at her residence at Legacy Point in Waukee. A private family entombment will take place at Resthaven Mausoleum at a later date.

Peggy Jane Peterson was born on February 25, 1929 in Dayton, Iowa. She grew up on a family farm in Boxholm, Iowa where she attended High School. Peggy graduated from Boxholm High with many good friends, and then attended Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa where she graduated with an Elementary Education Teaching degree in 1951.

During her time at Simpson she met her husband, John DeMaris, and the two of them were married in 1952. Peggy and John soon took their married life on the road to North Carolina where John rejoined the U.S. Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 1954, with a newborn child in tow, the couple moved to Bakersfield, California where Peggy had her second child.

In 1957 the couple moved back to Des Moines and bought a house in the Chautauqua Park neighborhood along with their two children and Henry the dog. In 1969 Peggy and the family moved to the Beaverdale area in Des Moines where she and John lived for the next forty-one years.

Although Peggy taught school for a couple years in Des Moines both full-time and then part-time, her real love was taking care of her husband and family. She loved her children, and eventually her grand-children, her cats and dogs, and of course cooking which she learned extremely well from being raised on the family farm. When her husband retired in 1992, they enjoyed golfing and taking care of their home. In 2010, Peggy and John moved to Waukee, Iowa.

Peggy was predeceased by her husband, John, in 2015. She is survived by her son, John (Debbie); her daughter, Mary (Mark) Pearson; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the Alzheimer’s Association – Greater Iowa Chapter or the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.