Margaret Jean “Peggy” Lawson
June 15th, 1943 - February 15th, 2024
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Peggy's Obituary
Margaret J. Lawson passed silently on 2/15 at 2:15 (appropriate as signs were always important to Peggy). She is survived by her three children, Nicole, Greg and Chris with 6 adoring grandchildren and preceded in death by her son Michael. Peggy was born on the 15th of June 1943 to Anne & Jack Lawson and grew up in Lemont, Illinois. She graduated from Mount Assisi Academy and attended Mount Mary University in Wisconsin, although rigid academic schoolwork wasn’t to be in her future.
Always a very crafty individual, Peggy had multiple creative outlets that were not in the common vernacular at the time, including creating intricate pine cone Christmas wreaths, hand designed silk screened cards, puka bead necklaces, Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls and various other stuffed critters. The ideas came fast and furious and her imaginative spirit never ceased.
Peggy was a fantastic cook and a creative baker. The amount of catering work she managed out of a small home kitchen was simply amazing. It all started with chocolate chip cookies taken to grade school by one of her sons as a thank-you to the teachers. Little did she know her son was selling these in the school! When a teacher called the house to place an order for a dozen more, things were afoot. Later, the local Baskin Robbins began purchasing her cookies to marry with ice cream to create the first ice cream sandwiches (no lie!). Peggy worked at a variety of restaurants including Rickie’s Deli, La Belle Cuisine in Glencoe, Beautiful Foods in Winnetka and Espial in Chicago. She later created Coach House Catering where she became famous for Cheese Tortas and Parmesan Potato Salad at Schaefer’s Wine, Food and Liquors in Skokie.
Peggy was once enlisted to decorate an intricate wedding cake display in royal icing for the storefront windows of Crate & Barrel in the Chicago Loop and this led to a brisk business in the wedding cake business. Delivering a cake to the wedding venue could be the worst (most distressing) part of the venture - running late (of course, ‘cause she was always running late). The individual cake layers set gingerly into the trunk of the car, a mad dash to the venue, each cake rushed upstairs to the events room, the last layer to be placed on top with a spatula when the unthinkable happened and the intricate basket weave design of the top cake flipped upside down. No problem - Peggy whipped out a pastry bag - cleared the room and repaired the cake as the wedding party entered the reception hall. No one was the wiser.
Creativity always stayed in her blood. She fostered an eccentrically named collection of pets over the years with a St. Bernard named Baroness Wilhelmina von Clunkerdunk and a multitude of cats including Junior, Pussy Galore, Smooger T. Jansen, Babycakes and Miu Miu.
Peggy was a singular soul following her own path and vision. May she rest in peace in the stars.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Heritage Chapel & Cremation Services, 8747 US 31, Berrien Springs, MI. 269-471-2700
Always a very crafty individual, Peggy had multiple creative outlets that were not in the common vernacular at the time, including creating intricate pine cone Christmas wreaths, hand designed silk screened cards, puka bead necklaces, Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls and various other stuffed critters. The ideas came fast and furious and her imaginative spirit never ceased.
Peggy was a fantastic cook and a creative baker. The amount of catering work she managed out of a small home kitchen was simply amazing. It all started with chocolate chip cookies taken to grade school by one of her sons as a thank-you to the teachers. Little did she know her son was selling these in the school! When a teacher called the house to place an order for a dozen more, things were afoot. Later, the local Baskin Robbins began purchasing her cookies to marry with ice cream to create the first ice cream sandwiches (no lie!). Peggy worked at a variety of restaurants including Rickie’s Deli, La Belle Cuisine in Glencoe, Beautiful Foods in Winnetka and Espial in Chicago. She later created Coach House Catering where she became famous for Cheese Tortas and Parmesan Potato Salad at Schaefer’s Wine, Food and Liquors in Skokie.
Peggy was once enlisted to decorate an intricate wedding cake display in royal icing for the storefront windows of Crate & Barrel in the Chicago Loop and this led to a brisk business in the wedding cake business. Delivering a cake to the wedding venue could be the worst (most distressing) part of the venture - running late (of course, ‘cause she was always running late). The individual cake layers set gingerly into the trunk of the car, a mad dash to the venue, each cake rushed upstairs to the events room, the last layer to be placed on top with a spatula when the unthinkable happened and the intricate basket weave design of the top cake flipped upside down. No problem - Peggy whipped out a pastry bag - cleared the room and repaired the cake as the wedding party entered the reception hall. No one was the wiser.
Creativity always stayed in her blood. She fostered an eccentrically named collection of pets over the years with a St. Bernard named Baroness Wilhelmina von Clunkerdunk and a multitude of cats including Junior, Pussy Galore, Smooger T. Jansen, Babycakes and Miu Miu.
Peggy was a singular soul following her own path and vision. May she rest in peace in the stars.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Heritage Chapel & Cremation Services, 8747 US 31, Berrien Springs, MI. 269-471-2700
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