Margaret (Peggy) Andersen
was born on October 3, 1932, in Dow, Illinois, to Harry and Mary Hagen and passed away on March 16, 2024. She was one of four children, including her twin sister Pat. Peggy grew up just a short distance away in Alton. She fondly remembered summer trips up to her grandparents’ farm and having to use an outhouse and outdoor well with its hand crank. Her father tended a garden there and some livestock that provided much of the family’s food during the Depression and war years.
Peggy and her sisters, Pat and Janet moved to Alameda, California, after seeing the Bay Area on a vacation with friends. Not long after arriving, Peggy was set up on a blind date with Harold Andersen who had just finished his service during the Korean War. A four-month whirlwind romance followed, and Peggy and Harold were married in 1955. They Honeymooned at Blue Lakes Lodge and decided to visit Harold’s sister Loretta Book and her husband Arnold in Ukiah. Instantly they knew that Ukiah would be a great place to start their family. Peggy and Harold had three children, Pam, Chuck, and Jim. In 1964, Peggy and Harold built their dream home together, where Peggy lived for the next sixty years.
After her children were all in school, Peggy became a teller at Bank of America in Ukiah. In 1975, sadly and suddenly, her husband Harold passed away. Peggy never remarried, but she surrounded herself with her children and eight grandchildren. Peggy had many friends and a large extended family of the Hagen and Andersen clans. She loved board games and playing cards, especially Murder, and spent many days and evenings around a game table laughing until everyone’s sides ached, and tears fell. Peggy’s “love language” was baking. She would often bring cookies and cakes for everyone to enjoy, and her grandchildren always knew there were frozen cookies in the garage freezer.
Peggy’s Catholic faith was very important to her. Her brother William became a priest. As a child, she remembered how he would take crackers and play communion with his sisters. Peggy greatly enjoyed the community she found at Saint Mary’s of the Angels church in Ukiah.
As her children became more independent, Peggy began to travel more. Some of her favorite adventures included Broadway plays and shopping in San Francisco, and visiting family in San Diego, Alton, and New Haven. Peggy and her sister Janet loved travelling to Fort Meyers, Florida, where she enjoyed walks on the beach, collecting shells and marveling at the sunsets. Her most memorable trips included special opportunities to be in Boston for the bicentennial celebration, Times Square for New Year’s Eve, and watching her grandchildren on the Grand Canyon Railroad.
Peggy was preceded in death by her parents Harry and Mary Hagen, siblings Pat, Janet and Father Bill Hagen, husband Harold Andersen, son Chuck Andersen and son-inlaw Mike Thompson. She is survived by her daughter Pam Thompson, and her three children Amy Lewis (Josh), Sara Pierce (Brad) and Andy Thompson (Amanda), and her son Jim Andersen (Robbin) and his three children Melissa Bergman (Zach), Christopher Andersen (Angel) and Nathan Andersen (Rhianna). She is also survived by her daughter-in-law Leatha Andersen and her two daughters, Talia Cechin (Jaime) and Haley Belford (Steven), as well as her seven great grandchildren and one arriving soon and beloved extended family members.
Graveside services will be held at Ukiah Cemetery on March 26, 2024. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider having a mass said for Peggy at Saint Mary’s of the Angels church or donating to Plowshares, the Ukiah Players Theater, or a charity of your choice in Peggy’s memory. Finally, the family would like to thank Peggy’s home aide Maria Delreugio, the staff at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley and Hospice as well as her caregivers at Holy Spirit Residential Care Home for their warm and comforting care.
Eversole Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.