Peggy Law Stevens
August 12, 1940 – September 16, 2024
Peggy Law Stevens of Dadeville, Alabama passed away peacefully on September 16, 2024 in her home at the age of 84 after a 7 ½ month fight with stage IV Cancer. On August 22nd she and her husband Buck had a bedside celebration of being happily married for 66 years. She is survived by her husband, William “Buck” Stevens, son, Mark Stevens and granddaughter, Ansley Stevens.
Peggy was born in Elmore County, Alabama on August 12, 1940 to Marion and Mary Law. She graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery in May, 1958 and in August of that year, she married Buck.
The couple were almost completing their second year of marriage when they left Montgomery and moved to Auburn in what was then known as “the married students’ apartments” owned by the university. Their building was on Beach Street close to the ROTC marching field. Peggy learned how to cook and support them both on a very tight budget by making every recipe in “365 Ways To Cook Hamburger Meat” cookbook, some of them over and over again. Pizza at the War Eagle Supper Club was a rare treat.
Peggy earned what was referred to as a PHT (“Pushing Hubby Through”) degree given out by the Advanced ROTC Department) by working as a secretary in Auburn University’s Engineering Department while Buck earned a BS in Business Administration and worked every odd job he could find before graduating.
Upon graduation in December 1962, Buck received a Regular Army Commission as a 2nd Lt and served 7 years in a number of locations. Peggy was finally rewarded when Buck was transferred to France and she was able to tour Italy and neighboring countries with a group of service wives as a young woman of leisure for a brief period of time. When Buck left the Army and joined Delta Air Lines in Atlanta as a pilot, it was back to work again for Peggy (this time as a legal secretary for a small law firm and later as a realtor) because new airline pilots in 1970 earned less than the minimum cost of living in their first year.
Once their son Mark’s adoption was final when he was 7 months old, Peggy was finally able to become a devoted stay-at-home mom and wife who brought her husband coffee in bed every day when he wasn’t flying and doted on her son. She moved full-time to StillWaters on Lake Martin, AL in 1994 into a condo on the water they had purchased in the summer of 1992 while deciding what to build on their lot that was purchased earlier that same year. As soon as their new waterfront home was completed, they moved into it in March of 1996. Buck commuted to Atlanta to fly his trips until his retirement in September of 1998. A month or so after Buck retired from Delta, Peggy told him that since he was retired, she was too! So, they hired a housekeeper and Peggy bought a Cadillac sedan because she said that little old ladies drove them and she was now officially a little old lady. New love came to Peggy when her cherished granddaughter, Ansley, was born in 2012 and she became known as “Oma”. Her iPhone was full of pictures of Ansley and she was more than willing to show all of them to anyone unless they told her to stop after 20 or so. Her lock screen changed over time, but it was always a picture of Ansley.
Peggy loved living on the lake in the winter, spring and summer and in a condo overlooking Shug Jordan Stadium full-time in the fall. She never met a stranger and as a result, she had
many friends and was known for her caring nature and devotion to her God and her family. She was immensely loved and will be greatly missed.
The family would like to thank Ivy Creek Hospice of Dadeville, AL for their excellent and loving care for Peggy for over three months. Peggy wanted to make sure Dustin Hilyer, her RN with Ivy Creek, received a special shout out; he was incredible and his love and care for Peggy was beyond outstanding.
Peggy was a faithful member of Church of the Highlands in Auburn and she served in several capacities on the Board of Trustees of Church of the Living Waters, a seasonal church inside StillWaters. A service to celebrate her life will be held at the Church of the Highlands Auburn East Campus, 2001 East Samford Avenue, Auburn, AL 36830 on Thursday October 10th, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. Peggy didn’t want anyone to have to get dressed up for her celebration of life, so business casual attire or anything close will be perfectly fine.
In lieu of flowers, for those wishing to do so, donations may be made in Peggy’s memory to:
Ivy Creek Hospice, 201 Mariarden Road, Dadeville, AL 36853
https://ivycreekhealth.com/locations/ivy-creek-hospice-dadeville/
Adullam International Ministries, PO Box 1248, Wetumpka, AL 36092
https://www.aim.world/donate
Church of the Living Waters, 1816 StillWaters Drive, Dadeville, AL 36853
https://www.colw-sw.com/donations