Margaret Helen Kennedy

Peg Wheeler Kennedy died peacefully Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at Wesley Court extinguishing a very long life dedicated to family, friends, her church and Abilene. Born to Arthur James and Elizabeth Hannagan in Penfield, Illinois on February 9, 1918, Peg was the last surviving of nine brothers and sisters. Peg graduated from St. Mary’s College at Notre Dame, Indiana and did graduate work at the University of Illinois. During the summers of her college years she would take the 20th Century Limited train to New York City to work as a fashion model. Her father advised her that if she wanted to appear sophisticated when out with a gentleman in New York, she should always order Haig and Haig pinch! After graduating from St. Mary’s in 1940, Peg was the youngest director of the Social Welfare Department that Champaign County had ever hired. After Pearl Harbor she worked in the Mechanical Training Command at Chanute Air Base where she instructed soldiers on parachute packing. There she met her first husband, Lieutenant Jack Wheeler. Jack brought his beautiful bride to Abilene in 1946. An old friend remembered, that since the night Jack walked into the Country Club with Peg on his arm, Abilene was never the same! Jack died in 1970 and in 1975 Peg married Robert Kennedy, then president of West Texas Utility Company. Robert died in 1993. In Abilene Peg was known for her abilities and her record of selfless giving. To quote a good friend, “Community wise, Peg never stopped running!” She was president of the Abilene Junior League and then chairman of its sustaining board. Peg was one of the first volunteers at the West Texas Rehabilitation Center, president of the Children’s Development Center, a founding member of the Community Welfare Council and Holy Family Catholic Church, and a member of various community boards, among others City Parks and Recreation, United Way, YMCA and Abilene Fine Arts. She and Maggie Morford worked side by side in classrooms with the Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Project to educate children in life-saving skills. She volunteered at the St. Vincent DePaul store for over 50 years. Her first love was for her family and friends, and her sense of adventure was contagious. When she saw a storm brewing, she’d pile her children in the car and race out to the cottage on Lake Fort Phantom Hill so they could watch the storm move across the lake. This sense of adventure extended to tornadoes where she’d move the family to an inside hallway that she had piled with pillows, close all the doors and then serve cucumber sandwiches and carrot sticks until the danger had passed. Peg delighted her grandchildren with her great interest in their well-being. She would jump in her car and head to Midland or New Orleans or hop a plane to Zurich, Switzerland at a moment’s notice if she thought her grandchildren needed her and she seemed to have a sixth sense to know when they did. Her “dress-up” trunk was famous and one of her granddaughters, Anja, still believes that grandmother flew to Zurich just to bring her a crown. Peg believed her life was immeasurably enriched by her loving family and the dearest of friends, and she will be held in the fondest of memories in all the roles she graciously fulfilled as colleague, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. Peg is survived by four children and their spouses: Gay (Cliff) Gilroy of Chicago, Susan Johnson of New Orleans, Greg (Jane) Wheeler of Midland, and Mike (Gail) Wheeler of Abilene. She leaves 7 grandchildren: Anja (Douglas) Guenthardt, Maya (Vasili) Vlachos, Susanna (Mirko) Schneider, Margaret Johnson, Hannagan Johnson, Jackson Wheeler, and Michael Wheeler, as well as 6 great-grandchildren and 31 nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank Dr. Joe Ferguson, Dr. Sandra Hazelip, Hospice of the Big Country, and the generous staff at Wesley Court who took such wonderful care of her. The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 8, at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road in Abilene. A prayer service will begin at 6:00 p.m. lead by Dr. Daniel Vaughan, Deacon, followed by a rosary. Peg’s life will be celebrated at the Mass of the Resurrection at 11:00 a.m. Monday, February 9, at Holy Family Catholic Church with Rev. Msgr. Frederick Nawarskas officiating. Burial will follow in Elmwood Memorial Park. Serving as pallbearers will be Joe Ed Canon, Joey Light, Bill Grosvenor, Jim Hatchett, Jim Sayles, and Dr. James Webster. In lieu of flowers, please remember West Texas Rehabilitation Center, 4601 Hartford, Abilene, TX 79605; the Margaret Wheeler Kennedy Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation of Abilene, PO Box 1001, Abilene, TX 79604, or your favorite charity in her name.