In MEMORIAM
Expanded Eulogies
“In Memoriam” listings are expanded paid obituaries, phrased as the family requests, and may include enhanced information or photographs that might not fit within free death notices.
Peggy Summerville
Peggy Lou Summerville, 91, passed away Jan. 16, 2017, at St. Luke Hospital in Marion, Kansas.
She was born in Santa Ana, California, on April 23, 1925. She was the only child born of Irvin and Alice (Janzen) Gerstenkorn. She attended kindergarten thru second grade in California. The family moved to Marion in 1933, where she attended school. She was a 1943 graduate of Marion High School, where she was valedictorian of her class.
That summer she attended Emporia State University, earning an emergency teaching certificate due to World War II. She taught for one year, 1943-1944, in a country school near the town of Antelope. She had five students in the following grades: two in third, one in fifth, one in sixth, and one in eighth. She bought a 1933 Chevrolet with the $85 monthly salary she made while teaching. She called this car Suicide Sal.
During the summer of 1944, she moved back to Santa Ana and lived with her grandparents. She worked at a Goodyear plant. That September, she returned to Marion where she worked for the Office of Price Administration. She was in charge of gas coupons, as gas was rationed during the war. After a year, she decided to return to Emporia State University to further her education.
She fell in love with Jack Q. Summerville, whom she had known since third grade. They were united in marriage on Jan. 25, 1946, at Valley United Methodist Church. They relocated to Wichita in 1949. Peggy worked in the secretarial pool at Boeing for 20 years, and raised her family. In 1976, they would return to Marion. Peggy worked part-time for the Marion County Record for several years.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack, on July 10, 2014, and a son-in-law, Andrew Maki.
She is survived by a son, John Summerville and wife, Becky, of Marion; a daughter, Jeanne Maki of Marion; two grandchildren, Stephanie Harris and husband, Jeff, of Salina, and Jason Summerville and wife, Sara, of Wellsville; and four great-grandchildren, Parker Harris, Carson Harris, Will Harris, and Ellie Summerville.
A funeral service will be at noon Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, at Valley United Methodist Church in Marion. Interment will be in Marion Cemetery.
Memorial funds have been established for Marion City Library and Valley United Methodist Church in care of Zeiner Funeral Home, 205 Elm St., Marion KS 66861. Online condolences may be left at www.zeinerfuneralhomes.com.