On a beautiful Spring day, April 14,1933 Joseph and Margaret Wehner had their first daughter who they named Margaret Louise so they could call her Peggy Lou. She grew up in South St. Louis and Shrewsbury and “Lou” was soon dropped. Playing accordion was one of her favorite things to do and she later performed with a strolling violinist and enjoyed teaching accordion as well. Peggy was working at Southwestern Bell as a switchboard operator when she met John Abel at the Casa Loma Ballroom where we celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2005. Peggy and John had two children, Douglas and Jennifer who they took on some fun vacations like Florida and the Wisconsin Dells. While working other jobs they purchased and rehabbed four rental complexes in the city of St. Louis before they bought a major 44 unit apartment complex in South County. Peggy worked hard and played hard. I don’t think anyone remembers her relaxing until she was about 80. For fun, Peggy was involved in a girls club who met monthly for many years. In later years she really enjoyed swimming and doing water aerobics. She and John’s favorite things to do together were hosting parties, dancing, and traveling the world as they made many friends. Peggy did all the preparation and cooking for their amazing parties, sometimes hosting more than 200 people at their home in Alton. They opened their home for charity events such as the Easter Seals and The Midland Repertory Players who regularly performed operas on their living room with a stage and a grand piano. About 9 months after John died, Peggy moved to Friendship Village where she was loved by friends, caregivers, dining room staff, and nursing staff alike. Tributes can be made to Parkinson’s Foundation, Inc., parkinson.org, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, sfstl.org .
Services: Funeral from Kutis Affton Chapel 10151 Gravois Monday, March 16, 9:00 a.m. Interment J.B. National Cemetery. Visitation Sunday 4-8 p.m.