Helping Us Honor Peggy Wissmueller

Hi everyone.

I never imagined I would be writing this while my grandma is still here, but we are in her final days at hospice and trying to prepare so we aren’t scrambling when the time comes.

Margaret Marie Wissmueller — Peggy — is the heart of our family. Mom to five, grandma to ten, great-grandma to seven (and counting). She loved every one of us fiercely and without conditions.

Peggy was a longtime parishioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Springfield, Missouri. Her faith anchored her entire life. She sang church songs up until last week — every word. “On Eagle’s Wings” was one of her favorites.

She had this quiet little secret hippie soul. She loved dragonflies. She loved wandering Commercial Street back home, going into the colorful shops, trying on wild, flowy outfits just for fun. She’d look at herself in the mirror and smile — that slightly up-to-no-good smile — and leave without buying a thing. She didn’t need to own it. She just loved the moment.

She always said she was “100% Missouri mule.” Show-Me State through and through. Stubborn when she needed to be, strong in what she believed, and usually smiling like she was getting away with something. It wasn’t harshness — it was conviction with a twinkle.

Her hugs felt like home.

Sunday mornings were bike rides to church with dew still on the grass and the smell of freshly mowed lawns in the air. Holidays meant her burnt pumpkin pies — and somehow we loved them anyway. Mornings on her front porch swing with coffee and blueberry bagels from the farmers market. She loved animals and always had pets — usually more than one. She loved every bit of life.

Three years ago when I had Owen, she couldn’t remember my name anymore — but she remembered exactly how to change a baby and feed him a bottle. She couldn’t read books to my kids, but she would hold them close and talk about the pictures like they were real stories. Even when her memory faded, her love never did.

She didn’t believe in tattoos or piercings — “If God wanted them there, He would have put them there.” Until I told her about my “Just Keep Swimming” tattoo idea. She approved immediately. That was her. Firm in her beliefs but always love first.

In a perfect world, she always wanted a Funeral Mass back home at St. Joe in Springfield.

Here is the hard truth:

After the sale of her home, funds that were meant to provide for her care and final expenses were taken and are no longer accessible to our family. Because of that, we are starting from zero when it comes to covering her arrangements.

We cannot currently afford even basic cremation services.

Our immediate goal is to raise enough for direct cremation so we can give her dignity and peace. If we are able to do more later — including honoring her wish for a Mass back home — we will.

This is incredibly hard to ask, but if you feel led to help, any amount truly matters. If you cannot donate, please share. And please keep her in your prayers as we sit with her and love her through these final days.

She is my everything.

— Summer & Family