Sr. Margaret "Peg" McPeak Celebrates 75th Jubilee
Sr. Margaret “Peg” McPeak, DW
Sr. Marie Marguerite de la Sagesse
February 2, 1945, 75 years professed
Born to parents William and Emma Marie Kaufman McPeak on October 4, 1921, Sister Margaret, aka “Peg,” made her first profession on February 2, 1945. At 95 years old and 75 years professed, she recalls one of her most memorable experiences as a Daughter of Wisdom. “Not many years ago, I received a reply from one of my adult education students, a woman who said, ‘I don’t always agree with you, but you do make me think.’ As a teacher, that’s what you want your students to do; you want them to think. I hope that has happened throughout my entire teaching career. Hearing it from that student was a marvelous experience.”
When asking what she is best known for, her Sisters shared that “Peg is considered an intellectual, a challenger and good at what she does.” Sr. Peg has certainly earned those sentiments throughout her religious life, most recently in retirement, as she has found more time for reading and deep reflection, a passion her parents instilled in her at an early age. Before her retirement, Sr. Peg worked for twelve years at St. James Parish in Setauket, New York, in the areas of education and liturgy. Afterward, she continued volunteering at St. James Parish. As she lightheartedly recalls, “I had three retirement parties. Every time I retired, they wanted me to come back and help with something else!” She also volunteered at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, New York, and served on the board of Thevenet Montessori School in Highland Mills, New York.
Before her last position at St. James Parish, Sr. Peg spent nine years as the Principal at St. Boniface in Sea Cliff, New York, preceded by three years as Principal at St. Mary Gate of Heaven in Ozone Park, New York. Previously, she was Director of Religious Education at St. Anastasia in Douglaston, New York, after serving as Director of Religious Education at St. Kieran Parish in San Diego, California, for three years. She was also Principal for four years at St. Thomas in Madawaska Maine, spent three years as a teacher at Christ the King High School in Middle Village, New York, taught at Norfolk Catholic School in Virginia for 14 years and two years teaching at Montfort Academy in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Before that, Sr. Peg was a student at Our Lady of Wisdom Convent in Ozone Park, New York, from 1945 to 1948. Eager to attend the novitiate after graduating from Our Lady of Wisdom Academy in Ozone Park, New York in 1942, her parents asked her to first spend a year at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn, after which she continued her college education at St. Joseph’s while at the Convent, earning a BA in English Literature and certification to teach English, Biology and Social Studies. Sister attended post-graduate school at St. John’s University in Jamaica, New York, earning an MA in English Literature and certification for teaching grades K-6. She went on to earn her certification in Elementary Administration and Guidance from the University of Maine in Orono in 1970. Decades later, she returned to college, earning a degree in Liturgical Studies from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
Please join us in celebrating Sr. Margaret “Peg” McPeak, our “intellectual Sister,” on 75 years of religious life!
Pictured below, Sisters, staff, and friends of Wisdom gathered together on Sunday, February 2, 2020 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Convent, Sound Beach, NY to celebrate Sr. Peg’s 75th Jubilee during a special mass where she renewed her vows, followed by a luncheon prepared and served by the wonderful staff at the convent. Sister’s special guests included friends of over 30 years and more, Parish friends, as well as as student to whom she was a principal in two Long Island schools.
