Margaret Jensen Stanley

Peggy Stanley, beloved by family and friends for her energy, curiosity, and devotion, died at home in Greenbrae on June 29. She was 97.

Margaret Louise Jensen was born on November 29, 1926, in Seattle. All four grandparents were immigrants-three from Sweden, one from Wales. Her mother, Margaret (Thomas) Jensen, was a concert pianist and, later, a music teacher. Her father, Harold Jensen, an aviator in the biplane era, served in the Army during both World Wars. In civilian life he worked as an auditor for King County and then budget analyst for the General Services Administration. From her mother Peggy inherited a love of music (classical, jazz, and Willie Nelson) and from her father, a bent for public service.

Peggy was a caring daughter who never left the family home; when she married in midlife her husband joined her in the Jensens' flat across from Fort Mason. She was a dedicated aunt and great-aunt to her brother Bill's family; her friendships were dear and lifelong. Peggy was not someone to move on. She lived out her near century in three places: Thomas Street in Seattle, Bay Street in San Francisco and, during the last 30 years, an apartment in Greenbrae with a view to Corte Madera Creek. She maintained 50-year memberships in the Cal Club and Seattle Tennis Club. She kept her cars and her clothes in good order for 20-year stretches. And though the happiest of travelers to new places, she and Mat loved above all to return to the same rooms in the same inns in St. Anton, Seattle, and Gold Hill, Nevada.

Peggy graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in political science (minor in international law), and worked for several years in state government, commuting between offices in San Francisco and the Capitol in Sacramento. She spoke of her single life as happy and fulfilling. She loved to dance (anytime, anywhere, she said), and was a skilled tennis player and downhill skier. When an instructor at Tahoe told her its slopes had no more to teach her, Peggy went to work for a car importer to enable an annual winter trip to the more challenging Austrian Arlberg.

In her mid-40s Peggy fell in love with Mat Stanley ("for his eyes"), a colleague who worked for Swissair around the corner in Union Square. They were married in Grace Cathedral in 1973 and made a good life together for 36 years. Peggy introduced Mat to skiing and St. Anton, and he introduced her to hiking, birding, and the ghost town of Gold Hill, whose historian he became. Mat was the researcher and writer; Peggy, the editor, proofreader, and production chief.

Peggy is survived by her brother Bill Jensen, nephews Mark (Johanna Grawunder) and Erik Jensen (Lisa), and niece Cynthia Moffa (Charles); great-nephews Nicholas and Thomas Jensen and Charlie Moffa; great-niece Amanda Moffa; stepsons Vincent (Nora Gallagher), Christopher (Cynthia Taylor) and Gregory Stanley (Sue); four step grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren; and caregivers Chari Allread, Gary Williams, Martha Reid, and Cristina Alfaro.