Peggy Willis Lyles

Sept. 17, 1939 - Sept. 3, 2010
TUCKER, Ga. Peggy Willis Lyles (born Mary Margaret Willis) of Tucker, GA, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend, passed away on Friday, September 3rd. Along with extended family, she leaves behind her husband Julian L. (Bill) Lyles of Tucker, daughter Leslie Lyles Middleton of Jupiter, FL, son Robert H. (Bob) Lyles of Atlanta, grandchildren Henry W. Middleton III, Robert Clay Middleton, Lauren Hope Lyles, and Renée Grace Lyles, and sister Cathy Willis of Cincinnati, OH.
The oldest of three daughters, Peggy was born in Summerville, SC and grew up in North Charleston, SC with her late parents, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Leon Willis. She graduated cum laude from Columbia College and also attended The Citadel and the College of Charleston, achieving recognition as a collegiate pageant winner at all three institutions. Mrs. Lyles later obtained her MA degree from Tulane University on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. She taught English at Sophie Newcomb College, and subsequently was a faculty member in the English department at the University of Georgia.
An accomplished artist, Mrs. Lyles became a prolific and internationally recognized haiku poet. She won numerous awards, including first place in the 1999 San Francisco International Haiku, Senryu and Tanka contest, and the Sakura Award in the 2008 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational. Her publications include several chapbooks in addition to a full-length book of haiku, To Hear the Rain (Brooks Books, 2002). Her extensive dedication to haiku poetry was reflected by her involvement with The Haiku Foundation and the Red Moon Anthology, as well as her Associate Editorship of the journal The Heron's Nest.
A private memorial service is planned. In lieu of flowers, the family requests consideration of donations to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation and/or the American Cancer Society.