Peggy Ann Lowe (née Nekvinda)

Peggy Ann Lowe (née Nekvinda)

Swisher

Peggy was born in 1945 to Vince and Claire Hardin Nekvinda. After the couple divorced, Peggy and her brother Bill were raised by their father and his new wife, Virginia Rittenhouse Nekvinda. They lived in Fairfax, then moved to Cedar Rapids. Peggy graduated from Jefferson High School, attending UNI and then the University of Iowa, completing a BA in Elementary Education. She taught in California and Alaska, in first grade and Head Start. She married Bob Huffman in 1968; they later divorced and she married Paul Lowe. During both marriages she lived in Alaska and fell in love with the state. She particularly enjoyed living in the village of Ambler, above the Arctic Circle. She also had two children in Alaska, Matthew and Chandra. Although she and Paul divorced after moving to New Jersey, Peggy continued to teach first grade there at Gill Saint Bernard’s School for 25 years, before retiring to her home state of Iowa. She loved living in her little house on Swisher’s Plum Creek. Peggy was always an artist, including painting, calligraphy, and sewing among her hobbies. She made many beautiful quilts for family, friends, and nonprofits. Peggy is survived by her son Matthew (Karen); three siblings, Bill (Terri), Nancy (Rocky), and Joe (Lynn); the families of former brothers-in-law, Andy (Jayne) Lowe and Jim (Laurie) Lowe; grandsons Johnny and Dakota Lowe; many nieces and nephews; and honorary granddaughters, Olivia and Rebecca Zahn. She was preceded in death by daughter Chandra, who passed in 2019, father Vince (1993), brother Mike (1993), and the mother who raised her (2008). She’ll be missed by her family and many friends from around the country. A celebration of Peggy’s life will be held at Prairie Bible Church, December 14 at 11:00 a.m.