Aunt Peggy always had a smile and could make you laugh. She will be missed. Love you Aunt Peg!

My other mother Peggy. I was lucky enough to live next door to her and her family for the first 12 years of my life. I could probably write a book with all of the amazing memories I have of hanging out with the Stafford’s. Trying to pick a few of my favorites has not been easy for me. Let me just tell you having awesome neighbors with a pool is about all a young man needs. Especially when they didn’t care what time of day it was I was always welcome to jump the fence and swim! I also probably wouldn’t know how to play poker if it wasn’t for all the late night parties! My sisters (Katie and Kelly) were going through Peggy’s apartment yesterday and came across a letter I had written her a long time ago. They gave me the letter and I was amazed that Peggy had kept it for that long. That just goes to show you how great of a person she was. She will truly be missed, but the foundation she has laid will live forever! 

To Kelly, Julie, Rita and families, our hearts go out, we are so very sorry for your loss. As you know Peggy was a lifelong friend to both Dianne and I. Peggy and her family moved to the corner of High Street and Bellevue when she and Dianne were about 10 years old. Living only a few houses apart they became fast friends. I guess you could say they became best friends forever before BFF was even a thing. About five years after Dianne and I got married, we had our little girl, Kate. Peggy knew we were living in a rented house and when she found out her next-door neighbors were going to sell, she called Dianne right away, we came on up and made a deal. Shortly thereafter Peggy had her daughter Kelly, as fate would have it our daughter Kate and Peg‘s daughter Kelly would get to grow up together as next-door neighbors just as their mothers had.  Our daughters have now been friends, No make that Sisters! All of their lives, and they will carry on the legacy their mother’s started, some 63 years ago. We will be forever grateful to have had Peggy in our lives, we will miss you Peggy Jean but you will always be in our hearts.

The only person who would dance in public and deal with two young girls who would drag her out at one on the morning to play card games, dress up, and any other ridiculous thing we could think of. Dakota, Dustin, and I were a handful growing up, between the insane nicknames we gave her and the times she had to chase us down with a yardstick because we would never stop pestering her, but only because we were obsessed with her. We will never forget every moment spent with her and how much she loved us. Every time she came down to visit, we begged her to stay in Tennessee for just one more week, hiding her suitcases and dragging behind her feet when she was walking out the door. I would give anything to be able to hold her back from leaving again and sit at the dining room table to fight over somebody cheating at cards, but that reunion will come soon enough one day. I love you forever “Grampy Jim Jim,” Love, your “Maria Jean” 

Peggy was my 2nd Mom. She was Friends with mom my and we bought the house next door. Her daughter Kelly and I grew up together and she is my lifelong Best Friend. Peggy always treated me like a 3rd daughter. She cooked me breakfast and homemade fried chicken dinners. She made sure we were always on some kind of fun adventure. She never forgot a birthday or a Christmas gift and she never missed a chance to celebrate. Then she became Grandma Peggy to my son. She watched after him when I had to work and she always showed him a good time whether it was going to the park or a flea market or playing cards. Until we meet again. We love you. 

I’m so honored to have been friends with grandma Peggy. I always felt like one of her own. I cherish all the days spent playing card games and dancing in the kitchen. I’ll never forget when she got a house in Tennessee, and the nights I got to spend there. She let Dakota and I wear her moomoo’s, and she rolled our hair like old ladies. She always had a smile or a joke that could brighten any room she walked in. I know without a doubt grandma Peggy was welcomed into heaven with open arms. 🩷

When I think of Peggy I think of her laughing - the biggest times being when she made the joke or, even better, when she’d ‘got you’ with one of her fantastical (if not wholly factual) tall tales. She was a great story teller and loved to tease, pull pranks, and have fun. Those wonderful qualities were passed along  and live on in Julie and Kelly - that and the wonderful twinkle in their eyes which they all  inherited from Peggy’s  bighearted mother, Jewell, and joyful Aunt Betty!

I have so many fond memories of dear ‘Mom’ Peggy. As long as I’ve know her she’s been a strong, bold woman who could tell such incredible stories. She’s had a heart of gold and has always looked after her family and friends. From ensuring that Julie and I had heat in our very old college apartment, to making sure we swam in a very clean pool in the backyard, to teaching me how to play blackjack, as well as the numerous memorable get-togethers over the past 4 decades - Peggy has meant so much to me! Sending much love and affection to Julie, Kelly, Rita, Robert and the whole family. 

OBITUARY

Peggy Jean Stafford

February 21, 1950 – June 30, 2023

Hoffmeister South County Chapel

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