Margaret W. "Peggy" Schmelter, age 84, of Oshkosh, passed away Tuesday, August 24, 2010, at Mercy Medical Center. Peggy was born on December 11, 1925, the daughter of William and Henrietta (Meiselwitz) Curry in Random Lake, Wisconsin.
During her early school years, Peggy attended classes in Kiel, and later upper elementary grades in Whitewater, where her father was a pharmacist at the Walgreen's Drug Store. After her father's death when she was 13 years old, the family moved back to Kiel, where Peggy graduated from high school in 1943.
After high school, Peggy attended Ripon College and received her teaching certificate from Sheboygan County Normal School. During WWII, Peggy went to Washington, DC, working for the Department of War. Upon her return from Washington, DC, she was employed as a nurse's aide at Rocky Knoll in Plymouth, Wisconsin, before taking a teaching assignment at Batavia, Wisconsin, in a one-room school house.
On April 2, 1955, Peggy married Raymond Schmelter at the First Presbyterian Church in Kiel, Wisconsin and they recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. After their marriage, Peggy and Ray lived in Racine for four years, where Ray was a teacher, and it was there that they started their family. Later, they moved to Oshkosh, where Ray taught at UW-Oshkosh. Peggy was a member of First Presbyterian Church, where she served as Deacon and on the Board of Directors for the First Presbyterian Pre-School. Other memberships include the Newcomer's Club, UW-Oshkosh Faculty Dames, and Jennie Marvin Antiquists.
Love of travel, especially with family, lead Peggy to tent camping in such places as the Black Hills of South Dakota, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, and her love of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Survivors include her loving husband of 55 years, Raymond C. Schmelter of Oshkosh; her children, Mara (Steve) Marks of De Pere, Stacy (Clinton) Courtney of Appleton, and Raymond W. Schmelter of Oshkosh; three grandchildren, Michael Schmelter of Oshkosh, Marisa Marks of De Pere, and Lydia Courtney of Appleton; and many nieces and nephews. Peggy was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, William Curry.
Funeral services will be held on Sunday, August 29, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. in Seefeld Family of Funeral Chapels, 1025 Oregon Street, with Reverend Thomas Willadsen officiating. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery. A time of visitation and sharing of memories will be held on Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the funeral chapel. A memorial is being established in Peggy's memory by her family. A special thank you to Dr. Kevin Andrasko and staff of Mercy Medical Center for the loving kindness shown to Peggy during her stay there. Please visit www.seefeldfuneral.com to send online condolences to the family.
Seefeld Funeral and
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