Longtime and passionate volunteer at Homeless Children’s Education Fund
PEGGY NEAL April 14, 1940 - March 8, 2015
Peggy Neal was a “100pound giant,” Joseph Lagana said of the longtime volunteer at the Homeless Children’s Education Fund. “She was a very powerful, intense and focused individual,” he said.
Mr. Lagana is founder and chief executive of the nonprofit agency that provides educational assistance for children who are living in shelters or who lack a permanent address.
Mrs. Neal, a Downtown resident who died March 8 at 74, will be honored by Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday for her contributions to the community. Council President Bruce Kraus will introduce a resolution making May 5 “Peggy Neal Day” in the city.
“She was passionate about supporting the kids we serve,” said the fund’s executive director, Bill Wolfe. Mr. Wolfe and Mr. Lagana both said they relied on Mrs. Neal, a former English teacher, to proofread and to improve all education fund documents. “I would run everything I wrote by her,” Mr. Lagana said.
The Homeless Children’s Education Fund has fashioned its own tribute to Mrs. Neal. Future presentations of the fund’s “Unsung Hero” award will be made in her memory, Mr. Lagana said.
The fund, based in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, provides a variety of aid for children in shelters or other temporary housing. That assistance includes access to computers, software, books and tutoring at special learning centers. The fund also provides backpacks and school supplies.
Mr. Lagana was a longtime friend of Mrs. Neal’s husband, Donn. When the couple returned to Pittsburgh a decade ago, both were looking for community service opportunities, and Mr. Lagana suggested she would find interesting challenges at the education fund. “She realized that the children’s needs were staggering, and she could be involved in something that would make a difference,” Mr. Neal said.
“Ultimately, she built our first website, giving us an identity on the Web,” Mr. Lagana said. “We had a lot of young volunteers and employees, and Peggy served as a maturing agent in the organization, giving guidance in a lowkey, friendly manner.”
“We miss her,” Mr. Wolfe said. “She always had a smile, no matter what the challenge.”
One of those challenges was ill health. When she died in Forbes Hospice at West Penn Hospital, she had been battling a red blood cell disorder, myelodysplastic syndrome, for 20 years.
Margaret L. “Peggy” Emmert was born April 14, 1940, in Detroit. She was the daughter of the late John and Irene Ballenger Emmert.
She grew up in Oakland County, north of the city. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Alma College, where she met her future husband. She later earned a master of arts degree in English literature from the University of Michigan.
Mrs. Neal had multiple careers in teaching, technical writing, job training and academic administration. She taught composition and literature courses as an adjunct faculty member at Elmira College, Point Park University and the Community College of Allegheny County.
She worked as an adaptive technology specialist at the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and held several posts, including director of membership and external affairs, at the Association of American Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C.
In more recent years she did website design and managed the church office at Strasburg Presbyterian Church in Virginia before relocating to Pittsburgh with her husband in 2005.
Her survivors, in addition to her husband, include a brother, John Emmert Jr., of Northville, Mich.; sons Peter, of Beaverton, Ore., and David, of Fanwood, N.J.; and two granddaughters.
A memorial service for Mrs. Neal will be held at noon next Saturday at Smithfield United Church of Christ, 620 Smithfield St., Downtown, where she was a longtime member and served several years as congregation president.
Memorial gifts can be sent to Forbes Hospice, 4800 Friendship Ave, Pittsburgh, 15224.