Margaret J. "Peggy" Gibson

Jan. 14, 1925 - Aug. 28, 1997

Peggy Gibson, 72, 16463 Pretty View Drive, Plymouth, Ind., the widow of Plymouth businessman Dan Gibson, said in early August after her diagnosis of leukemia: "It was the best week of my entire life." "My children came," she said, "and we laughed and reminisced and told jokes, and were closer than we had been in years. I thank God for that." That's the kind of gal Peggy (who refused to be called "Margaret") Gibson was. Cheerful, happy... a joy to be around. Her laugh alone was enough to lift anyone's spirits.

This classy, gutsy lady died at home in the company of her family on Thursday night, August 28, 1997, at 9:05 p.m.

She was born on Jan. 14, 1925, in South Bend, Ind., the daughter of Walter and Beatrice Hilkert Miller. She graduated from South Bend Central High School in the class of 1943, and attended Stevens College, Columbia, Mo., majoring in radio and television. She was first married to Bernard Bannon in 1946; they became the parents of three children, two sons and a daughter. Peggy had lived in South Bend, Warsaw, Culver and Plymouth. She worked as a dental assistant for doctors in South Bend and Culver.

She was also a bookkeeper in the Department of Student Activities at Notre Dame. In 1963 the family began spending summers at Lake Maxinkuckee. They moved there permanently in 1974 where she resided until her marriage to Dan Gibson on December 28, 1977, in St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, Plymouth. Eight years later Dan died of cancer, and Peggy moved from their home on South Michigan Street in Plymouth into the Pretty View Condominiums in West Township.

In her younger years she was quite an athlete. She played tennis, swam and rode horseback. "I could play golf," she said, "but hated it; it was never my game." Peggy's game was bridge. She was an excellent card player and enjoyed the challenge of duplicate as well as rubber bridge. A gourmet cook, she also had a genuine talent for interior decorating and fashion. She enjoyed needie pointing, music of the '40s, and going to dinner and the movies with friends. She was a past member of the Junior League of South Bend, TriKappa, the Summit Club, the Plymouth Country Club and the Plymouth Duplicate Bridge Club. She was also a member of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church.

Surviving her death are her two sons, a daughter and a daughterin-law. They are: Patrick Bannon of Hermosa Beach, Calif.; Nancy Ann Bannon of Bedminster, N.J.; and Terry and his wife, Roxanne Bannon of Warsaw, Ind. Also surviving are three stepchildren and their spouses: David and Ginny Gibson of Plymouth; Gwen and Thom Morris of Greencastle, Ind.; and Tom and Cheryl Gibson of Hendersonville, Tenn. Eleven grandchildren and stepalso survive. The grandchildren are: Sean Hardy of New Jersey; Rory Hardy of Tempe, Ariz.; Delaney Bannon of North Carolina; Mackin and Riley Bannon, both of Warsaw. Peggy's step-grandchildren are: Gayle Gibson of Indianapolis, Ind.; Cam Gibson of Plymouth, Ind.; Cathryn Cassells of Greencastle, Ind.; and Ashley, Mary Katherine and Andrew Gibson of Hendersonville, Tenn. A sister-in-law, Jane Gibson Bidwell of Plymouth, also survives.

Peggy was preceded in death by her husband Dan; her parents; her brother, Walter Charles Miller, Jr., a casualty of WW II; and by a sister-in-law, Polly Gibson Willis.

A time for sharing and visiting with family and friends will be held in the Bishop Sheridan Parish Hall of St. Thomas Episcopal Church for one hour prior to the funeral services on Tuesday, September 2, at 11:00 a.m.

The services in St. Thomas' Church, Adams at Center Street, Plymouth, will be conducted by the Reverend Father John Schramm. Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan Street, Plymouth, Ind., is in charge of arrangements. Cremation will have taken place.

Peggy's children will have a private ceremony, scattering her ashes at a location in which she loved so well. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society of Marhsall County or to the Marshall County Community Foundation. Peggy Gibson told her story to her friend, writer Ida Chipman, 48 hours before her death. "I want to read it," she said. "I want everything just right." It was typical of Peggy to pay attention to the details

Article from 30 Aug 1997 The South Bend Tribune (South Bend, IN)

Source: Newspapers.com

03/24/2026 EJS