Peggy Williams Simpson
September 28, 1934
March 16, 2019
Funeral Service
Monday, March 18, 2019, 2:00 PM
With visitation 1 hour before the service
Beulaville Presbyterian Church, Beulaville
Interment
Thigpen - Lanier Cemetery, Beulaville
Beulaville, NC
After 84 years on Earth, Peggy Williams Simpson went to be home with the Lord, and her family and friends who had gone before her, on the afternoon of March 16, 2019. She passed away peacefully with her family and some of her best friends by her side.
In her passing, Peggy declared victory over a terrible disease, ALS, which had threatened to paralyze her in her final days. She never allowed it to defeat her, rarely dignified the disease’s presence by even talking about it and never complained. She remained active, going walking with her friends, “the Hardees Ladies,” in Beulaville almost every morning.
Peggy was born in the Quinn’s Store area near Beulaville to the late Eunice and Lester Williams in the midst of the Great Depression in 1934. She was the youngest of seven children. One of her brothers passed away at a very young age, and the others were not only siblings, but also among her best friends for as long as they lived. Peggy loved everyone, and everyone loved Peggy.
Growing up in the midst of the Depression and World War II helped to form her values – she appreciated the simple things in life like the beauty of nature, working in her home and garden, and enjoying the company of family and friends. She did not like to see waste. She taught her boys the same values.
She graduated from Beulaville High School, and went on to attend East Carolina College in Greenville. She always had pride in her home town and her schools, and was most proud of her family. She often spoke of the service of her three brothers who went off to defend their country in World War II.
She married the very handsome and, compared to her, very tall Lois Simpson, in 1954. The two met in Fountaintown when he rode a mule and cart by her sister Aileen’s house, and he struck up a conversation with the pretty blonde who never quite made it to five feet tall. They dated for about three years, and married before she turned 20. After their wedding, Peggy and Lois went immediately to Nashville, TN, where Lois attended Nashville Auto Diesel College. After college, they moved back to North Carolina, and after some time in Raleigh, eventually ended up back in Beulaville. While Lois ran Simpson Wheel Alignment, she supported him by keeping a tidy home and raising their two boys, Jeff and Curt.
Any conversation about Peggy is incomplete if it doesn’t include her best friend and next-door neighbor, Jan Lanier. The two raised their families side-by-side, and did just about everything together – from gardening, to picking up the kids from school, to vacationing and volunteering in their churches and community. They even worked together at Special Collection in Beulaville for many, many years.
Peggy was a pillar in her church, Beulaville Presbyterian, and was even a reluctant trail blazer as the first female elder elected in her church in the 1980s. Though she didn’t feel she was the best choice for the job, she knew that someone had to do it first, so she accepted. She was never comfortable in the spotlight, and always preferred that it be shown on someone else. She was a member of the Beulaville Presbyterian choir for many years, and loved everyone in her choir family. She was also recently elected to receive a Lifetime Membership in the Presbyterian Women of Beulaville Presbyterian Church. Over the years she hosted “circle” in her home many times.
A celebration of her life was held at Beulaville Presbyterian Church on Monday, March 18, 2019. Visitation with her family was a joyous time with lots of “Peggy stories” told by her numerous friends from the church, her coworkers and customers from Special Collection, the Hardees Ladies and the community at large. Smiles and laughter outnumbered tears, so it was a fitting tribute to a woman who always had a positive outlook on life and a kind word of support to everyone around her.
Peggy is survived by her husband, Lois Simpson, of the home; son Jeff Simpson and wife, Donna, of Shallotte, NC; son Curt Simpson and wife, Vera, of Wallace, NC; grandchildren Meghan Simpson, Josh Smith, Madelyn Coombs and Robert Coombs; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be made to Beulaville Presbyterian Church, 205 E. Main St., Beulaville NC 28518, or to the Vidant Duplin General Hospital Foundation, PO Box 278, Kenansville, NC 28349.
