Margaret (Peggy) Beach
Margaret (Peggy) “Nana” Warner Lantz Beach, 101, of Mount Lebanon, Pa., formerly of Philadelphia, died peacefully on Monday, Feb. 7, 2005. Peggy was preceded in death by her dear husband, Carlton H. Beach and cherished son, S. Donald Rush.
She is survived by her beloved daughter, Merrell (David) Evans; her granddaughters, Merrily (William) Schweers and Beth Ann Evans (Michael Blehar) of Mount Lebanon; grandson, David (Eileen) Evans of Allen, Texas; and by seven great-grandchildren, Jennifer and Jeffrey Baron, Ben and Dylan Schweers and Maggie, Lucy and Sam Blehar.
Born in 1903, Peggy was educated in Philadelphia, spent her years as a young mother in Farmington, Pa., and Mount Lebanon, returning in mid-life to Philadelphia, to work at the Tourist Bureau in Center City, a position she recalled with much delight. At age 88, she returned to Mount Lebanon to be nearer to her great-grandchildren. For the next decade, she lived independently on Washington Road, where she would enjoy walking to the library and greeting neighbors in Uptown Mount Lebanon. A vivacious and intelligent conversationalist, Peggy had much to say about her past and much advice to offer about the future. She was among the very first woman to vote after the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and was proud to recall that she cast her vote in every election. Her family and her many friends will deeply miss her honesty, her stores and her witty repartee. Peggy’s enthusiasm and appetite for life enabled her to age with such beauty that most who saw her could not believe she was a centenarian. For the many kindnesses and excellent care given to her over the past few years, her family is grateful to the nurses and staff of Country Meadows Nursing Center for allowing Peggy to live the last years of her long life with dignity. Interment will be private. Arrangement by the LAUGHLIN MEMORIAL CHAPEL, Mount Lebanon.