I'm not too sure if there's a Saint Peggy or not, but now that Peggy Soucy has left this Earth and gone on to heaven, there should be.
Many of you knew Peggy, who died this past Wednesday. She and her husband Lee (more on their unique relationship in a minute) moved to Plainview 65 years ago in 1946.
In her younger years Peggy was very active in the community. Many of her accomplishments are listed in her obituary on this page, but the highlight to me was the fact that she helped organize Plainview's food pantry, Faith In Sharing House. I had the pleasure of serving on the FISH board with Peggy a few years back, and it remained a passion of hers since the beginning.
No doubt many hungry Hale County souls owe their passing pangs to Peggy Soucy.
Peggy's community involvement slowed through the years as she let a younger generation make their mark, but her involvement at her church, St. Mark's Episcopal, only recently began to wane as her health declined. As a woman in her 80s, she often made me feel guilty for not doing more at St. Mark's.
Peggy developed a very noticeable limp, but she didn't let that stop her from attending services every Sunday.
I don't remember ever hearing her complain, whether about her hips or her arthritic fingers or, later, the cancerous tumor that rapidly grew around her eye.
Peggy knew everything there was to know about St. Mark's and, for that matter, the whole of the Episcopal Church. More than once I remember Peggy gently correcting information passed on by a priest during a sermon.
St. Mark's is where wife Nancy and I met Peggy, who, despite not being comfortable as a reader in church, agreed to do such at our wedding.
It was through our mutual love of dogs that Nancy and I grew to enjoy her and Lee's friendship the most. We often traded dog-sitting duties when each other left town, and I'll always remember what a kick she got when one of ours, Copper, climbed a tree in pursuit of a squirrel.
Peggy shared many stories about her and Lee showing dogs on the "New England dog circuit." They often camped out as they traveled the circuit, and I got the feeling she loved every minute of it.
Speaking of New England, Peggy was born in Lynn, Mass., and within seconds of talking to her it was obvious that she wasn't from around here. Maybe that's why she didn't like reading in church, afraid we'd give her a hard time about how she pronounced things like "Pete-uh," which just so happens to be the name she gave her last dog, a well-fed golden she and Lee loved dearly.
A former Navy nurse, Peggy met and married Lee in Hawaii. Everyone who knew him knew he was a Pearl Harbor survivor. Well, Peggy was there at the time of the bombing, too, even though she didn't have to dive into the water off a sinking ship like Lee did.
It's a good thing she didn't, too, since I'm pretty sure Lee wouldn't have shared his spotlight.
In fact, of all the things Peggy did in her life, the most impressive had to be staying married to Lee for almost 65 years, until his death in January 2010. In that realm, Peggy should get marriage credit in dog years!
Before Lee died, he suggested some of his ashes should be buried in the memorial garden at St. Mark's, where Peggy's will be buried Wednesday morning, and some scattered at Pearl Harbor. In jest at the time, the family wondered which part of Lee's ashes should be taken to Hawaii and which part should stay here to await Peggy's cremains.
Daughter Margaret had it all figured out.
"I'll take his mouth to Hawaii," she suggested. "That way mother can get some peace and quiet."
Regardless, Lee has his favorite gal back.
Thanks for everything. Saint Peggy.
Kevin Lewis is editor of the Herald.
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