Peggy Susenne Swycaffer

Cordes Lakes and the entire Highway 69 corridor lost one of its most enthusiastic cheerleaders this past weekend with the passing of longtime Big Bug News columnist Peggy Swycaffer. "It's a huge loss for this community. This community adored her," friend Mary Wells Seppala said. A Phoenix native, in 1993 Peggy retired from her work with a school district and moved from California to Cordes Lakes with her husband, Bobby, a retired heavy equipment operator, to be near Peggy's mother, the late Mary Jane Digges. Bobby died in 2006. "It's fitting she gets to be with Dad on his birthday, July 8. She missed him so much and always wanted to be with him," her daughter, Ria Swycaffer, said yesterday. In her column on June 4, Peggy wrote a lovely tribute to console a friend: "Condolences to Don Kenny on the passing of his Rose from this earthly life. Rose now blooms in God's garden, so she will still be able to shower us all with her love and blessings just as she always has. She will leave a large hole in so many lives; we need to remember to fill that hole with things that will make her smile; love, positive thinking, and doing for others the best we can with what we have. In this way, Rose will live on through us. The exact same can be said of Peggy. She wrote often of her beloved neighbors, especially when little ones thoughtfully stopped by with fresh produce, baked goods or meals. She never failed to promote businesses that she felt did a great job, and community organizations that needed help with fundraisers. "I owe a huge debt of gratitude to her over the years," Seppala said. "When we opened our business (LMR Automotive) seven years ago, I didn't know anybody. I got the Big Bug paper and saw articles about new businesses, and wondered 'how do I get in on this?'" She said she read Peggy's column, emailed her, and Peggy emailed her right back. "We fixed her late husband's old Cougar, she wrote about us, and business grew in leaps and bounds," Seppala said. "That's when I realized everybody reads her column. I sat on board for Cordes Lakes Days, and she would work with me and plug stuff in her column. It was really awesome. I kept every article she ever wrote. Many of them are now old and yellowed." Peggy was with the Big Bug News from its onset, writing a column each week. In 2013, as the newspaper downsized, that was reduced to twice a month. In 15 years, she never missed a deadline, and figured she wrote some 800 columns. "She loved writing for this newspaper," Ria said. "I think having a deadline kept her going." She loved and enjoyed her children, Ria and Chris, and often wrote about what joy their presence gave her. Chris lived with her and Ria moved to Phoenix in March. "I am glad I was able to be with her for three months," Ria said. Ria said her mother was an outstanding artist who "could do anything." Ironically, although Peggy loved people, she hated crowds, Ria noted. In addition to Ria and Chris, Peggy leaves behind step-daughters Donna Thomason of Boise, Idaho, Alicia Swycaffer of Caldwell, Idaho, and twins Susan Searcy of Stockton, California, and Diana Swycaffer of Boise. Her brother, Stormy Digges, a Valley resident, and sister, Sue Arthur, of Texas, as well as sister-in-law Mary Digges, and nephew Lee Digges - her next-door neighbor in Cordes Lakes - also survive her. In what would be her final column for the Quad City Neighbors, Peggy "took a stroll down memory lane," reminiscing about when monsoons were called simply summer rains, when kids drank water from swamp cooler hoses, and when TV stations signed off with our National Anthem and radio stations signed on with it. She ended every column with "And that's the way it is," and every email with "Hugs, Peg." Hugs to you, too, Peg. We will miss your sweet personality, along with your entertaining column. A memorial service and potluck in Peg's honor will be at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, at the Cordes Lakes Community Center.

Peggy Susenne Swycaffer

December 15, 1940 - July 7, 2014