Mrs. Margaret “Peggy” Mann Swindell Stevens, age 85, died Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. The funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. today in the Wilkerson Funeral Chapel, 2100 E. Fifth St., Greenville, by Dr. Greg Rogers and Rev. Karen Crutchfield. Burial will follow in Oakdale Cemetery, Washington.

Mrs. Stevens was born to Dr. Lewis Holmes Swindell and Margaret Mann Swindell on Jan. 21, 1927, in Washington. She graduated from St. Mary’s Junior College in Raleigh, where she was president of the SGA. She also graduated with honors from Wake Forest University. In 1952, she married Charles Edgar Stevens, who was the love of her life and who never tired of playing “Peg O’ My Heart” for her on the piano.

Peggy taught English for several years at Washington High School, where she also helped her husband, Charlie, direct stage productions of “Oklahoma” and “Annie Get Your Gun.” She assumed his summer position as evening programs director at Camp Sea Gull in Arapahoe for three years while he was working on his PhD. Peggy was a past president of the Greenville Service League. Known for her quick wit and literary talent, Peggy wrote and directed skits for new members of the Service League for more than 20 years. She was also a devoted member of the Dig’n Delve Garden Club and the Delphan Book Club. She has been a long-time member of Oakmont Baptist Church.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by two daughters, Margaret Mauney and husband Kevin of Winston-Salem, and Mary Charles Jenkins and husband Jack of Morehead City. Her grandchildren, Jacob Holmes Jenkins of Santa Monica, Calif., Anna Margaret Jenkins of Morehead City, and Charles Nantz Mauney of Winston-Salem, remember her wonderful stories and her amazing ability to discover toys in “Gammy’s magic closet.”

Mrs. Stevens’ brother, Lewis Holmes Swindell III, preceded her in death.

The family will greet friends at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. prior to the funeral service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Charles E. and Margaret S. Stevens Endowment at East Carolina University, ECU Foundation, 2200 S. Charles Blvd., Greenville, NC 27858.

The family extends their sincere gratitude to the staff at Cypress Glen for their wonderful care.

Online condolences at www.wilkersonfuneralhome.com.