Marjori "Peggy" M. (Francis) Gibstine

She was 95 years old. She spent her life bringing treats to friends and relatives and asking questions about their daily lives. In hospice care, she expressed condolences for a second cousin’s dog. And she never missed a birthday.

She was the loving wife of the late Dr. Marvin H. Gibstine, a pediatrician, and mother of three daughters and a son: Dr. Connie F. Gibstine [late Jerry Altman], Kathy Connors [Terrance] of Denver, Colorado, Michael Gibstine [late Mimi], and the late Susan Jaeger. She and her late sister, Geraldine Francis Allina of Palm Beach, were close.

Peggy stayed in constant contact with her eight grandchildren who called her “Gma: Samuel H. Altman, Max Altman, Jack [Julia], all of San Francisco, and Annie Altman of Hawaii; Kevin Connors [Jill] of Denver; Kendra Roberts [Rhett] of Clarkston, Washington; Erin Shepherd, [Jordan] of Indianapolis; and Jennifer Serralta [Michael] of Greenville, South Carolina. Her nine great-grandchildren made her laugh.

After she graduated University City High School, Peggy attended Fontbonne College. She graduated from Washington University while raising her children.

After she was widowed, Peggy went to work as a substitute teacher in the Clayton, Parkway, and Pattonville School Districts. After retiring, she took classes at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Washington University. She never stopped reading American history. Missouri Conservationist and Missouri Life magazines always lay on her coffee table.

Peggy and her husband hiked the parks in St. Louis County and in Illinois. Before one Francis family Thanksgiving dinner, she took a cousin and a thermos to Shaw Nature Reserve where they walked in the snow sipping coffee and watching the deer. At home, Peggy enjoyed her bird feeder which she set up outside the window in her breakfast nook so she could watch the hummingbirds.

As newlyweds, Peggy and her husband, a U.S. Army physician, were sent to post-WWII Germany. In their free time, they toured the war-torn cities of Europe. Later, she returned, taking one grandchild at a time.

A longtime resident of Clayton and Creve Coeur, Peggy recently lived in Brookdale Creve Coeur.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.In lieu of flowers, contributions in Peggy’s name can be made to Lydia’s House, a domestic violence shelter, at Lydiashouse.org.