Peggy Lorene (Titus) Munson

 September 5, 1936 - July 31, 2016    

Peggy Lorene (Titus) Munson died July 31, at her home in New London, NH, under Hospice care after a month-long illness precipitated by a fall and a broken hip. She was born in South Bend, IN, on September 5, 1936, the daughter of Loren O. and Rutha Beatrice Titus. She attended South Bend public schools and graduated from Riley High School in 1954. She attended Ball State University, where she was double major in voice and flute and a member of Chi Omega Sorority. She met and became engaged to a graduate assistant, John (Jack) Munson. They married on November 24,1956. Peggy became a proud Navy wife when her husband was commissioned July, 1957. During his career they resided in Newport, RI, where their son Jeffrey was born in 1958; Virginia Beach, VA, where their daughter Lisa was born in 1964; Roosevelt Roads, PR; and Portsmouth, RI.

Peggy obtained a BA degree in Music (summa cum laude) from Salve Regina College (now University) in Newport, RI, and added a MA degree in Reading in 1980. She was a natural and masterful teacher and taught in the public schools of Portsmouth, RI, for more than two decades, first in music and then in sixth-grade math and writing. In 1975, she and Jack built a lovely home on the Sakonnet River in Portsmouth. They were introduced to New Hampshire by friends, and, in 1988, built a home in Oakledge, Sunapee, NH. Peggy retired from teaching in 1996 and they moved there permanently. In 2004 they built and moved to Great Pines in New London.

Music was an important part of her life. She possessed a magnificent voice of great range and sang both soprano and contralto parts in a number of church choirs including Grace Methodist Church in Dayton, OH; Calvary United Methodist Church in Middletown, RI, and South Congregational Church, Newport, NH. She directed the Navy Choristers in Newport (RI) in the spring of 1960, and introduced men into the program for the first time. She was an interim director in several churches. Peggy had an appreciation for most genres of music but was particularly fond of both jazz and classical music, most especially, perhaps, the music of George Gershwin and musical theater. She and Jack were season ticket holders at the New London Barn Playhouse for many years.

Most recently she was an active member of the First Baptist Church of New London but a stroke in 2004 limited her singing there. She was an active member of Chapter K of PEO (Philanthropic Education Organization) in New London for several years.

She is survived by her beloved husband of nearly 60 years; daughter Lisa Munson, New London; son Jeffrey Munson and wife Karen, Topsham, ME; their children, Joel Munson and wife Lizbeth Calderone, Elin Zapka and husband Nathan, Whately, MA, and Sara Munson and fiancée David Patterson; two sisters, Carol Tegel, South Bend, IN, and Nancy Jo Johnson and husband Richard, Newmarket, NH and Bonita Springs, FL.

A memorial service celebrating her life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 4, at the First Baptist Church, Main Street, New London. Officiants will be the Rev. Cindy Johnson, and the Rev. Dr. Karen Munson, United Methodist Church District Superintendent, Mid-Maine.

Donations may be made in her memory to the Kearsarge Regional Ecumenical Ministries (KREM), PO Box 1465, New London, NH 03257-1465, or to the New London Barn Playhouse, 84 Main Street, New London, NH 03257 or to the Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice, P.O. Box 2209, New London 03257.