Peg was born on January 27, 1939 in New York, NY and was married to her husband, Julian “Chip” Chassman, for over 51 years. She was a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother.
Peg graduated from the Ethical Culture Fieldston School and went on to earn a Bachelor’s of Education from Michigan State University in 1961 and later a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Columbia University. Peg began her career as a high school guidance counselor and physical education instructor in Livingston, New Jersey and Huntington, Long Island. In 1974, she and Chip made a pioneering move to Jacksonville to open a Sir Speedy printing franchise; they later owned and managed numerous rental properties through her company, PFC Services.
Peg’s passion was community service. She was a past president of both Women Business Owners of North Florida and the Jacksonville Women’s Network. In 1998, she was recognized as the Small Business Administration’s Women in Business Advocate of the Year for North Florida. In 2000, she was named a “Legend of Leadership” by the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women.
Peg’s proudest accomplishments were those achieved through her volunteerism. She was a long-standing director of the YWCA (Community Connections) where she helped to improve the lives of low-income women and girls. Peg served as an advocate for children in the court system as a Guardian ad Litem, for which she was recognized as an Outstanding Advocate by the Mayor’s Victim Assistance Advisory Council. She was a recipient of The Florida Times-Union’s 1999 EVE Award for Volunteer Service. Later, she became active in Volunteers in Medicine of Jacksonville, where she helped the working uninsured receive free health care.
Peg was predeceased by her parents, Louis and Adeline Freedman, also of Jacksonville, FL. Peg is survived by her husband, Chip; sister, Nancy Ghandhi (Bud) of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin; her two sons, Peter (Nancy) of Houston, Texas, and Bob (Ali) of Jacksonville; granddaughter, Kendall; and step-grandsons, Fernando and Patricio.
The family will hold a memorial service for Peg at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home of Mandarin, 11801 San Jose Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32223 on Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 10:30 a.m., with a reception to follow at the same location.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Volunteers in Medicine of Jacksonville http://www.vim-jax.org or The Guardian ad Litem Foundation of Florida’s First Coast galfirstcoast.org.
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