Peggy Jane Schnable—8/18/2022

Peggy Jane Schnable
May 20, 1934 – August 18, 2022

It is with great heaviness of heart that we share the passing of Mother Peggy Jane Schnable, age 88. She left this earth while at home in Lansdale, surrounded by love.

She was born in Fairview Village, PA, the youngest of nine, to Sicilian-born parents Joseph and Lena Butera. She was a “surprise baby” and great joy to them, having been born 10 years after their 8th child. Consistently an honor student, she truly made her parents proud, graduating #1 in her Collegeville-Trappe High School class. She then graduated from Pierce Business College in Philadelphia with honors. From there she served as a Medical Administrative Assistant first at Valley Forge Medical Center and later at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She continued to earn career awards reflecting her consistently excellent work performance.

She met her lifelong partner and great love George while at Penn. They enjoyed 48 loving years together. Once married, they settled in Lansdale, where she dedicated herself to raising two children as an excellent Mother. She was prominently involved in PTA, hospital, and church volunteer activities. Her creativity shined through in her gourmet cooking, gardening, and immaculately-maintained home décor. When George “retired”, she worked side-by-side with him in his world-renowned chemical consulting business. They also enjoyed travel throughout the U.S., Canada, Caribbean, and Italy.

In her later years, she played electronic keyboard and piano in the Young at Heart orchestra, energizing local audiences. Another creative outlet was her oil painting, earning her numerous guild-reviewed art awards. Equally beautiful were her yearly hand-crafted Christmas cards, which were as carefully color-coordinated as her many outfits.

She will be greatly missed for her kindnesses bestowed on so many; her lightning-fast sense of humor, present even at the end; and her aesthetic contributions to our world via her art and music. The quiet joy of her strong faith guided her entire life.

In the end, her heart simply grew tired, reflecting her endless passionate, energetic, and heartfelt devotion to those around her.

Peggy Jane was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. George Schnable, in 2005. She is survived by her children Lee Ann Lippincott (Robert) of Yardley and Joseph (Larissa) of Spring City. Her adored grandchildren are Margaret and George Lippincott, also of Yardley.

A celebration of her life will be held on Monday August 29, 2022 at St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church of Lansdale. Viewing hours will be from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial. She will then be interred in Saint Patrick’s Cemetery in Norristown, sharing the mausoleum space with her husband. A memorial luncheon will follow.

For funeral details or to leave a remembrance message for the family, please use this, the website of the Simcox-McIlvaine Funeral Home (Lansdale).

www.simcoxmcilvainefuneralhome.com

Please consider a donation to either St. Stanislaus Church OR Abington-Lansdale Hospital.

In addition, she requested that each person complete a meaningful act of kindness and joy in her memory.

13 thoughts on “Peggy Jane Schnable—8/18/2022

  1. To Nancy and Dave,
    Thank you for being such caring, spiritual, and fun neighbors to Mom.
    She truly loved your holiday parties, fabulous cookies, and inspiring words of kindness. Also, she wanted to kidnap your very cared-for precious beagle, Samuel. What a blessed family to know!

  2. I offer my sincerest condolences to Peggy Jane’s family and loved ones. It was my honor to know Peggy Jane for many years and her impact will live for many more. A lovely woman who was both remarkably bright and remarkably talented.

  3. We send our sincere condolences to Peggy’s family. We always enjoyed talking with her on her walks in our neighborhood. She always enjoyed looking at the flowers. We enjoyed her sharing the history of our neighborhood and the land where our house was built.
    Much love, thoughts and prayers.
    Dennis & Carol Rickert
    Neighbors

    • To Dennis and Carol,
      Thank you for being great company and sharing in the beauty of your shared neighborhood with Mom…such peaceful, happy memories!

  4. We are so sorry for your loss. Thinking of you and your family as you celebrate Peggy Jane’s exceptional life.

    • To Jeff and Pat,
      Thank you for remembering our Mother with your memorial gift to Lansdale-Abington Hospital. She did a great deal of volunteer work there and would have loved to be remembered there as well.

  5. A wonderful long-time neighbor and talented musician in a couple of groups Dick played in with her. Little did we know of her history or life-long accomplishments. Such is humility. May we all help others in her name and memory.

    • To Dick and Louise,
      Thank you for being such memorable, fun, and kind neighbors to Mom… she spoke of you often, with fondness!

  6. Peggy Jane was my first friend that I met when I moved to Lansdale. I met her at a grief share meeting because we both lost our husbands.She took me under her wing and we became close friends. She had the best parties and was much a great artist and a talented piano player. She also was a great cook. She met my grandchildren and loved them and they loved her. She became a member of New Beginnings and invited me to go. With out her guidance I would not of known anybody.She was a very friendly and outgoing person. She lit up the room when she entered it. She will be missed! Rest well my friend. I will never forget you!❤️

    • To Nancy,
      Thank you for your lovely comments here, as well as those you spoke in the cemetery’s chapel. She was very lucky to have you as her lively, spirited, kind, and generous friend for years!

  7. My sincere sympathy to the Family of Peggy Jane.I have known Peggy for a long time, and she was a sweet, kind, person.Very talented, with her artistic ability. I loved her Christmas Cards she sent, very beautiful, and I have saved them thru the years. We kept in touch, and every now and then would have a luncheon of three, with a very good friend of Peggy’s,Terry Law. We had a lot of laughs and fun, when we 3 were together, for an afternoon. She always said to me, let me know when you want to get together. Call me, and all I have to do is get my shoes on and come. I will miss talking to her. So sorry for your loss. Sincerely, Dee Kennedy

    • To Dolores,
      Thank you for providing many hours of caring friendship and laughter for Mom and her friend Terry. Such perfectly-meshed relationships are truly a treasure, and I hope her memories live
      on forever as very happy ones for you.

  8. We want to convey our heartfelt sympathy to Peggy’s family in the loss of their mother and grandmother. She was a wonderful neighbor who cared deeply for others. Her positive personality, great sense of humor and lovely creativity expressed in her music and art will always be remembered. *Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” This describes Peggy.
    Much love,
    David & Nancy Etris & little beagle, Samuel
    Neighbors

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