Peggy Stephanou

Margaret Stephanou was a woman of amazing character, and the world is diminished by her loss.  She loved reading, gardening, singing and the sea.  She was an excellent baker and had a deep and abiding passion for whipped cream, learning all sorts of patisserie recipes so that she could include whipped cream in all her baking.  She enjoyed a good story and truly enjoyed a good joke, be it the darkest of black humor, the sharpest of word play or by her long time love of the Three Stooges, the silliest of slapstick.  The greatest of all her strengths though, was her heart.  She loved intensely and deeply, loving her husband George and her children Eli and Maria with an intensity that could never be ignored.  Her heart was large, making lots of room for her children’s spouses, Linnea and Jonny and even more so for her grandchildren, Karolina and James.  She always had a laugh, a smile and a desire to add a tiny bit of chaos wherever she went, being sure to instruct her grandchildren on the finer arts of shooting cheerios off of their tray and around the room.  

 Margaret is survived by her husband George, her children Eli and Maria, her daughter and sons-in-law Linnea and Jonny, her grandchildren Karolina and James and her siblings James(Nancy), Vincent (Geri), Katherine (Al), Mary (Ralph), Ellen (Ed), Nora, Mark (Lisa) and John (Stephanie) as well as many nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews.  Gone before are her parents James and Margaret and beloved sister-in-law Hope.

A funeral service will be held at 11:30am, Monday, January 31, 2022, at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. The family will receive visitors beginning at 11am.

Burial will follow at St. Basil Orthodox Church Cemetery.

Margaret will be missed by all who knew her, and she is finally at peace. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her name to the MA/NH Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Donations can be made online at http://act.alz.org/goto/pegstephanou or can be mailed to Alzheimer's Association, 309 Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham MA 02452. Please make all checks payable to Alzheimer's Association and include her name in the mailing. 

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Letters from the family:

My sister, Peggy, was the first of nine children. She embodied many of the characteristics typically thought of as descriptive of first-born children. She was conscientious, reliable, organized, and high achieving. She was an outstanding student and always gave her best efforts in anything she did. She possessed a strong moral sensitivity and could be quite stubborn when she thought she was “right!” 

Parents often have higher expectations of their first born children than their other children, and this can be a two edged sword for the first child. Experiences that in time may result in their development as leaders in adulthood can come at a cost in the early years. Our mother had six children in seven years, and though young, Peggy often found herself in a caretaking role for her younger siblings. This resulted in sacrifices on her part, when she had to drag a couple of little kids with her when she would rather be doing something else. I know this, because I was one of those kids cramping her style, and she reminded me of this quite frequently over the years.  

I was only around ten when Peggy left home for nursing school in Boston and established a life away from us. It was always great to see her, but for many years our paths didn’t cross often. Family moves and other circumstances kept us hundreds of miles apart for many years. Sure, we saw each other at family events, but we had little exclusive time together until she moved with George and Eli, then just a toddler, to Wilmington, DE when I lived in Philadelphia. What a gift it was to discover that she and I had a lot in common and had the chance to become good friends.

Being with Peggy was always a good time. She was beautiful, confident, smart and funny, generous with her time and unfailingly kind and supportive. During those Wilmington/Philadelphia years, we shared lots of laughs, many glasses of wine, and innumerable, memorable, fun family dinners.

Peggy was always ready to help you with anything and would do anything for her family even when she had to butt in to do it. She saved our sister Nora’s life, not once but twice, when she practiced medicine without a license (a consistent behavior among Faherty nurses) and pretty much single handedly bullied our father into getting life saving cancer treatment. We owe her for these gifts.

As it happens, life continually deals us changes. Career moves in both of our families put all those hundreds of miles between us again. However, in addition to all the wonderful family weddings and other events we shared, we managed to meet up almost every summer on Cape Cod, and we fell right back into our easy friendship. We shared great times at the beach, going out to dinner, and roaming craft fairs together.

Peggy was a loving and devoted wife to George, a warm and caring mother to Eli and Maria, and a terrific big sister. Beloved by her family, she will be sadly missed by all of us. 

With Much Love, Ellen

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Peggy was my other mother. She had the distinction of being the first born of nine children, not an easy position for anyone. At a very early age, Peggy learned the true meaning of responsibility. Whether she wanted to be or not, she was in charge She always met the challenge. I have memories of Peggy leading us up Dorchester Ave. in South Boston on the way to the “double feature movies.” With her younger siblings in tow, we followed the leader. We always had fun, sometimes at her expense.  Years later, I would recall this picture in my mind as I read “Make Way for Ducklings” to my children.  

Peggy was smart and beautiful. I aspired to be like her. Dad thought she looked like the famed Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor. He jokingly called her El Cid, I assume because of her take- charge personality.  She excelled in high school and later went on to nursing school at New England Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing in Boston. She graduated in 1966 top of her class. She became my mentor as I followed in her footsteps to the same school of nursing. When I needed to complete my national exams for entrance, it was Peggy who drove from Boston to get me to the testing site.  We had a great time driving the expressway in her VW bug, in freezing weather with no heat and windows that didn’t completely close.  

Several years ago, Peggy related a story of my near drowning as a toddler at a family outing in the Blue Hills Reservation. My mom became distracted talking to her sister and as we walked into the pond, she let go of my hand. As I went under water, my sister was there to save me. I drove by this pond for years on my commute home from work, always wondering why this place gave me an uneasy feeling.

I was happy to visit Peggy on several trips to her home in North Carolina. George provided the best of care and love to our sister. There were rare times when Peg was frightened and sad and hard to console. One night we just started singing: Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Franky Valli the Everly Brothers. She knew all the lyrics. All of us singing and dancing and she loved it. It became a bedtime ritual for me even though some of the hired professionals thought I was out of my mind. Peg liked it and that’s all that mattered.

 Above all else, Peggy was kind. She looked for the good in others. She was a wonderful role model for all of us, a shining example of what a good person should be. She was devoted to her husband and children and they to her.  To her loving husband who kept his promise to the very end, we thank you.

Emerson describes a successful life as “one who leaves the world a bit better.” I believe Peggy meets this measure.  Rest in peace dear sister.