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Mary 'Peggy' Johnston
MARY MARGARET "PEGGY" JOHNSTON
Iowa City
Mary Margaret "Peggy" Johnston (nee Rhoads), 93, of Iowa City, formerly of Media, Pa., died peacefully Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, at Solon Care Center. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 6, at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Church, 30 E. Franklin St., Media. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Monday at the church until the time of service. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery, Media. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, 618 E. Davenport St., Iowa City, IA 52245; and Iowa City Hospice, 1025 Wade St., Iowa City, IA 52240.
Mary was born July 22, 1926, in Media, Pa., to Frank and Jessie Rhoads. In 1943 after graduating from high school at age 16, Mary worked as a keypunch operator for Westinghouse and later at Standard Oil Co. She married Henry J. Johnston of Springfield, Pa., in January 1947. Mary said she was happiest in her roles as a wife and mother. She always was an active and dedicated member of her parish church, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as a member of Sodality, contributor to the annual Christmas bazaar and volunteer in the elementary school library. In 1997, three years after the death of her husband, Henry, she moved to Iowa City. Both in Media and Iowa City, Mary enjoyed close friendships forged around the bridge table, a game for which she had special talent. She also loved any opportunity to back float over ocean waves on Long Beach Island, N.J. Those who knew Mary will remember her daily habit of prayer, her generous heart, quick wit, devotion to routine and her careful attention to everything.
Mary is survived by her four children, Mary Elizabeth Immediata (Anthony), Susan Griffin (Charles), Anne Jensen and Joseph Johnston (Kathy); three granddaughters, Mary Grace McAleavey (Steven), Teresa Cotey (Phillip) and Annie Immediata; and seven great-grandchildren, Laura, Andrew, Emily and George McAleavey and Eloise, Isabel and Henry Cotey.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Henry; her parents, Frank A. and Jessie C. Rhoads; and her sisters, Frances A. Burdsall and Dorothy E. Rhoads.
Arrangements by Kaniefski, Kendus, Danjolell Memorial Home and Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City.
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