Marguerite (Peggy) Bishop Pierce, 98, of Moline, died Friday, July 21, 2023 at the Fountains, Bettendorf.

A memorial service will be held at 10am on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Moline.  A gathering celebrating Peggy's life will follow at Noon at the Outing Club, Davenport.  Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, Rock Island is assisting the family.  Memorials may be made to Augustana College, the Quad City Symphony, the Figge Art Museum or to the Rock Island County Historical Society.

Peggy Bishop was born on February 6, 1925, in Andalusia, Illinois.  She graduated from Rock Island High School, class of 1942.  She continued her education at Augustana College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.  She later received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Illinois.

At age 20, Peggy became a PE teacher at her alma mater.  Peggy taught at Rocky for 42 years, first as a PE teacher, then as Dean of Girls, and finally as a guidance counselor. She retired from Rocky in 1987.

Peggy married Charlie Pierce in 1946 at the Augustana College Chapel in Rock Island.  Charlie and Peggy built their first home in the orchard of the farm on which Charlie grew up in Port Byron.  Charlie designed the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired home, and he and Peggy built it themselves, with weekend help from family members and friends.  The only thing they did not do for themselves was dig the foundation!

Peggy and Charlie loved to hike, ski, rock climb, camp, and canoe.  They began their adventures in the 1940's with the Black Hawk Hiking Club, going on many of the club's "Big Hikes" in the western United States.  In those days, there were no interstate highways.  Black Hawk Hiking Club members bounced along over dirt and gravel roads in the back of open flatbed trucks for days to get to their mountain destinations.

Peggy and Charlie joined the Chicago Mountaineering Club in 1957 and spent countless weekends climbing at Devil's Lake, Wisconsin with their good friends.  They went on many rock climbing expeditions over the years, including snow and ice climbing.  Peggy and Charlie especially enjoyed climbing in the Tetons and Devil's Tower in Wyoming.  They also climbed in Europe, scaling the Matterhorn and the Jungfrau among other peaks in the Alps.

Peggy and Charlie discovered skiing in the 1950's and became life-long ski enthusiasts.  They also loved camping and canoeing, particularly in the Boundary Waters and shooting rapids on the Flambeau River in Wisconsin.

Peggy was very active in the Quad Cities community.   She served on the boards of many organizations, including the Quad City Symphony, St. Katharine's/St. Mark's School, Bethany Home, the Rock Island County Historical Society, the Visiting Artists, the Volunteer Guild of the Davenport Museum of Art, and the Outing Club.

Peggy was honored as Mardi Gras Queen in 1993, by the Junior Board of Rock Island, in recognition of her services to the community.

Peggy and Charlie were fortunate to enjoy 30 years of retirement together while active and in good health.  Among the countries they enjoyed visiting in their later years were China, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Nepal, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Russia, Peru, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Brazil.

Peggy is survived by her daughter Ann Wagner; son-in-law Steven Wagner; and four grandchildren, Katie, Emily, Charlie and Johnny Wagner.  She is also survived by her sister Dee Horton (Bishop); and by her sister-in-law Joyce Bishop and her brother-in-law, Dr. Loren Horton.  Peggy's nieces and nephews in alphabetical order include, Sue Berry (Rursch), Dr. Jim Bishop, Craig Horton, Jan Marshall (Horton), Jane Rursch and Linda Sutliff (Bishop).

Peggy was preceded in death by her husband Charles Ira Pierce, her mother, Hazel Elliott Bishop, her father, Clarence Joseph Bishop, her brother Dr. Joe Bishop, and her sister Dorothy Rursch (Bishop).

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.wheelanpressly.com.