Margaret "Peggy" B. Parker

Margaret “Peggy” Baatz Parker passed away at the age of 98 on February 20, 2026, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was born on May 27, 1927, in Massillon, Ohio to C. Mark and Margaret (Winters) Baatz. She was the eldest of six children. Peggy graduated from New Castle High School in New Castle, Pennsylvania in 1945 and from Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio in 1950. During her working years, she was Secretary to the Director of Industrial Relations at Shenango China in New Castle, Pennsylvania; a secretary in the office of the Dean of Fine and Applied Arts at Ball State University in Muncie; employed by Hobart Corporation in Troy, Ohio; and a library assistant at Greenfield Public Library in Greenfield, from which she retired in the mid-1990s.

Peggy was a member and officer of the American Association of University Women, served on the boards of the Literacy Coalition and American Cancer Society, and volunteered at Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield and Matthew 25 Health and Care in Fort Wayne. She and her husband Rex enjoyed traveling to Europe and around the United States on their own and with Elderhostel (now Road Scholar). They also made frequent trips to Sanibel Island, Florida and made two special trips to Bermuda, one for their honeymoon and the other for their 60th anniversary. Rex and Peggy also hosted travelers and enjoyed other hosts’ homes through the Evergreen Club. She was a member of Waynedale United Methodist Church. In her final months, she received excellent care from Lutheran Life Villages at Inverness and Eleos Hospice Care.

Peggy loved genealogy, knitting Christmas stockings (over 100!), hot air balloons, riding in combines, and butter pecan ice cream. She was particularly proud of her neighborhood newspaper called “The Kendal Kids” that she and friends published from 1936 – 1939 in Massillon.

She was preceded in death by her husband Rex Parker after 68 years of marriage and by her siblings Rita Hannigan, Tom Baatz, Sallie Boothroyd, and Patty Vandergrift. She is survived by her children Susie (Steve) Narkis (River Forest, Illinois), Cindy (Dan) Nestel (Fort Wayne), and Scott (Dianne) Parker (South Pasadena, California); grandchildren Jeffrey and Timothy Narkis, Eric (Kelly) Nestel, Emily (Jason) Baum, and Craig and Mollie Parker; great-grandchildren Jack, Sophia, and Edward Nestel, and Julia Margaret and Elijah Baum; and sister Barbara Davies.

A private Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Peggy’s name to Muskingum University, Matthew 25 Health and Care, or to an organization of one’s choosing.

Arrangements entrusted to D.O. McComb and Sons Covington Knolls Funeral Home 8325 Covington Road, Fort Wayne, IN.