Thomas County GaArchives Obituaries.....Peggy Wiggins Grant July 14 2003
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Thomasville Times Enterprise - July 16, 2003


Peggy Wiggins Grant
Services for Peggy Wiggins Grant of Thomasville are at 2 P.M., Friday, July 
18, 2003 at First United Methodist Church. Peggy Tyson will play piano 
selections related to her mother's life beginning at 1:30 p.m. The Rev. Burns 
Willis will officiate and interment is in Laurel Hill Cemetery. Born May 11, 
1918 in Cleveland, Miss., to Sylvia Brannon and Robert Wiggins. Two brothers 
and two sisters followed, and they survive her. The family enjoyed singing 
together and playing the piano and the pedal-pump organ at home. They attended 
church regularly, and every Sunday at the noon meal, each child was required 
to recite a Bible verse by memory before anyone could eat. When Mr. Wiggins 
had to be hospitalized because of alcohol addiction, and subsequently lost his 
family because of it, Peggy became even more of a little mother to her 
siblings, while her own mother made a living for them all. Sylvia's goal was 
to see that all five of her children earned college degrees, and with an 
unwavering belief in God and a strong determination, she succeeded. Peggy was 
devoted to her mother and loved her father, in spite of his affliction. She 
told of the good things he had done for his family, and especially how he had 
sat in a chair by her bedside all night when she was very young and very ill. 
She loved and stayed very close to all of her brothers and sisters all of her 
life and enjoyed telling stories of their childhood together. Later, she 
enjoyed their growing families, as well. To this day, James, Robert, Betty and 
Anne refer to her simply as Sister. Peggy was an honor student in her studies, 
all the way through college and her degree in English from Delta State 
University, in Cleveland. In high school, she never had to take the final 
exams because of her top grades, and later said she often wondered, at the 
time, what they were like, and felt lucky, because they might have been her 
undoing.But you will not find her in her class graduation photograph, because 
when it was taken, she was still in the restroom, trying to get her hair just 
right! Peggy was also a great piano student and played a solo recital of 
classical music at the age of 14. In college, she played the role of the 
mother, in the play Little Women, and although she enjoyed the theater, the 
piano was her lifelong friend. She played it all of her life and taught her 
children and a few neighborhood children, from time to time. After college, 
she worked as a secretary for Mississippi Power and Light in Cleveland, and 
was about to embark on a career in Washington, D.C., when she was swept off 
her feet by a new employee, Ralph Grant, a tall man from Texas. They married 
on Oct. 5, 1940 and had two daughters, Peggy and Beth. Beth has a son, Brian. 
They all survive her. Through the first 16 years of marriage, there were many 
moves, because of Army, and then, company transfers for Ralph.They finally 
settled in Shreveport, La., staying for 40 years. After a full-time job as 
wife and mom, with an occasional part-time secretarial job, Peggy re-entered 
the work force fulltime, and had a 22 year career with the Federal Housing 
Administration in Shreveport. During these years, and in retirement, with the 
girls grown, Peggy and Ralph traveled throughout the United States, Canada, 
and Europe. In 1996, the couple moved to Thomasville to join their girls and 
grandson. Throughout her life, Peggy was an active member of the United 
Methodist Church, a circle leader and Sunday school pianist. Physically 
beautiful, she also loved beauty, and visited museums and attended concerts, 
the ballet, and the opera, all of her life. She was a good cook, a good 
gardener, a good friend, a loving daughter and sister, a faithful and frugal 
wife, and a devoted and enlightening mother and grandmother. She enjoyed 
writing, and corresponded with absent family and friends from the age of nine. 
She picked flowers from her garden and successfully mailed them in boxes to 
brighten their lives. She was generous and gentle and caring, and talented, in 
music, and in life. Peggy Wiggins Grant suffered from Alzheimer's disease the 
last 13 years of her life and died from it on July 14, 2003. Even in illness, 
she never uttered an unprintable word. She was cared for by her family in her 
home through every stage of the disease, and made as comfortable as possible. 
Thomasville Hospice visited her every week during her last months and helped 
the family in this process. Survivors in Thomasville are Ralph Grant, R.O. 
Grant, Peggy and Jim Tyson, Beth Grant and Brian Haythorn; in Cleveland, James 
Wiggins and Christine Jones; in Texas, Robert and Sue Wiggins; in Maryland, 
Betty and Clatie Powell; in Ohio, Anne Dismuke. Others are nieces and nephews 
and their children. Visitors may sign the online guest register at 
www.allenfh.com. -- Allen & Allen Funeral Home

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