MARGARET S. "PEGGY" KOWALCZYK (nee Curran), age 85, beloved wife of the late Casimir; mother of Catherine Hall, Christopher (deceased) (Pam), Caren Holton (Keith), Claire Hilbert (Scott), Craig (Molly), Crystina O'Brien (Henry), Clifford and Constance (deceased); grandmother of 13; great-grandmother of 3; sister of the late Nancy McMahon; aunt, great aunt, cousin and friend of many.  Passed away January 22, 2020.  Funeral Mass Thursday, January 30, St. Clement Church (14401 Madison Ave., Lakewood) at 10 A.M.  Interment Holy Cross Cemetery. Friends may call at CHAMBERS FUNERAL HOME of CLEVELAND, 4420 ROCKY RIVER DR. AT PURITAS, WEDNESDAY 4-8 P.M.  Contributions in memory of Peggy are suggested to the Fr. Cregan Chapel Fund at Ennis Court, 13315 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, OH  44107 or St. Francis School, CLE Scholarship Program, 7206 Myron Ave., Cleveland, OH  44103.

Peggy came into this world surrounded by the love of her parents and her beloved sister Nancy. She was born in Baltimore, spent her tender years in the Bronx, and grew up in Cleveland, where she made lifelong friends and cemented the bonds of friendship with her cousins. She would tell us about her many suitors, but she only truly loved our father enough to take the plunge. They plunged into a family of eight children, all born within the span of 14 years. She did not know how to drive a car, she did not have a washer or dryer until the 70s, and had little help at the end of the day with household duties. However, when asked why she had eight children she always said, "I love children and wanted a big family." She never complained, and every one of her children was exceptional in her eyes.

Peggy loved to celebrate holidays. She always baked an over-abundance of stuff for Christmas. She baked cookies for weeks and, for Easter, Polish "Easter bread" and cupcakes decorated with coconut flake dyed green to hide jellybean eggs in the icing and a pipe cleaner handle for the little Easter basket it became. The funny thing is she would also celebrate the non-major holidays like April Fool's day. We all knew that coming home from school an April Fool's cake would be waiting for dessert. The April Fool's cake consisted of a regular box cake that, once baked, was mined with prizes. The prizes, charms, fortunes and mostly coins for sanitary purposes were wrapped in aluminum foil and then surgically inserted into the cake prior to icing so each piece was sure to yield something for the consumer. There are rare April Fool's days that we don't think of the cake filled with tiny choking hazards daring to be ingested and wrapped in aluminum foil that if mistakenly crunched on reacted with tooth filings to shoot a needle like pain through your brain. We loved those cakes.

She loved being a grandmother and could not be any prouder of her 13 grandchildren. She was blessed with three great grandchildren and was excited to see them grow. She broadcasted her love to all of them.

Most importantly, Peggy loved the Lord with a true and abiding faith. She would storm heaven with prayers for our successes on tests, interviews, or any trials that we may be facing. Even when she was dying, and her words were mostly too difficult to make out, it was clear from the cadence and the softly spoken phrases that she was saying the rosary. And, it is also most assuredly true that she was praying for us. For us - the children, grandchildren, relatives and friends left behind who won't be able to get her advice on what teams to put in our March madness brackets, what book to read next, or how to handle a particularly difficult life problem. We were the light of her life and, by reflection, she made our light shine out. Until we meet again Mom, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.