Pegene McPhaden

Pegene (Peggy) W. McPhaden 1946 - 2025 Pegene W. McPhaden, passed away on Thursday, August 20, 2025. She lived at Foulkeways in Gwynedd, PA. She was predeceased by her grandmother Gladys Freeman Wiggins, her mother Jeanette H. Wiggins, and father Wallace L. Wiggins. She leaves behind two daughters, Greer J. McPhaden and Imani A. McPhaden, and two grandsons, Steven D. McPhaden and Duncan A. McPhaden. Peggy was a kind and goofy nerd who knew early on that she wanted to learn and to travel. She loved to recommend science and history tomes to her book group. She was fascinated by genealogy, loved scrapbooking, and combined the two to document her family's history. She loved her to make her Siamese cats talk and enjoyed classic monster movies like "Psycho" and "Alien." Peggy filled her home with antique maps and never passed up a $1.50 hotdog at Costco. She never got that "modest Mercedes" she dreamed of, but she knew how to look as cool as Grace Jones in a Volvo. She loved visiting with her children and grandchildren and playing the occasional practical joke. Peggy was born in New York, NY on January 12, 1946. She was told as a little Black girl that she was smart enough to be a nurse or a teacher. Her dissatisfaction with limited expectations drove her to graduate from George Washington High School at the age of 16 and head off to college in Ohio, whether her parents liked it or not. She worked in Brazil, San Francisco, and Denver as part of the school's curriculum, and earned a Bachelor's degree in biology from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH. Over the next decade, she and her husband lived in Minneapolis, MN, where she worked in a pharmacology lab at the University of Minnesota, and had her first child. The family moved to London, England, and Brussels, Belgium, when her husband took a transfer offered by his employer. Her second child was born in London. While in Europe, she taught English as a Foreign Language at American companies, language schools, and the Brussels English Primary School. Peggy also traveled to over 20 countries including Norway, Portugal, Lichtenstein, Tunisia, the USSR, and East Berlin. The family moved to Lansdale, Pennsylvania in the early 80's, and Peggy earned an MBA in Accounting from Temple University and earned a CPA. She worked at the Internal Revenue Service for almost 30 years using her European business experience to become an auditor and team manager in the international corporate division. She was a proud member of the National Association of Black Accountants. In the late 1990s Peggy joined worship at the Gwynedd Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society for Friends and soon became a member. She served on the Meeting's Care & Council and Stewardship Committees. She loved to share her skills and talents with the organizations that shaped and reflected her values. She served on the boards of Pendle Hill: a Quaker retreat centered in Wallingford PA; Antioch University in Yellow Springs Ohio; and Foulkeways, where she built friendships for 20 years before becoming a resident. Memorial Service Saturday, August 30, 2025 Gwynedd Monthly Meeting, 1101 DeKalb Pike, Gwynedd, PA 19436 215-699-3055 Service: 1:00 pm Reception on site: 2:00 – 3:30 pm Zoom Link for Memorial In lieu of flowers please send donations to Gwynedd Monthly Meeting, 1101 DeKalb Pike, Gwynedd, PA 19436 or at https://www.gwyneddmeeting.org/