Marguerite Gertrude (“Peggy”) Eldridge September 2, 1932—May 13, 2015 Marguerite Gertrude Eldridge died peacefully at her home in Springfield, Virginia, on May 13, 2015, at the age of 82. Known by family and friends as Peggy, she had been in failing health for the last several years. Peggy was born in 1932 in Berwick, Maine. She married Milton Eldridge (now deceased) in 1950, and accompanied him on assignments with the Navy to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico; and South Burlington, Vermont. Upon his retirement from active duty with the Navy, they settled in Somersworth, New Hampshire. She moved to Springfield, Virginia, in 2000. An award-winning artist and instructor in ceramics, Peggy owned and operated the Hilltop Ceramic Studio in Somersworth for many years with her late husband. She held every office in the Granite State Ceramic Association, including president. Later in her career, she shifted her artistic talents to china painting, and participated in seminars each year at Cazenovia College in New York. Over the years, she also worked as a sales associate for the Navy Exchange in Puerto Rico, and for J.C. Penney in Burlington and Rochester, New Hampshire. She was in charge of the salad department for Stillings Dining Hall at the University of New Hampshire, and performed quality control and assembly functions for the graphic arts department at M. F. Blouin in Rollinsford, New Hampshire. Peggy originally joined the Order of the Eastern Star while living in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She continued as a life-long member of Sarah Orne Jewett Chapter #176 of South Berwick, Maine, serving as Past Matron and as Past Grand Representative to Puerto Rico from Maine. For many years, Peggy was a member of Faith Baptist Church in Somersworth. After moving to Virginia, she attended Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield and became active in their Morning Star and Faith and Culture Sunday school classes and prayer groups; she also served as a volunteer instructor in their English as a Second Language program. She participated for several years in Bible Study Fellowship, and often volunteered to watch the leaders’ children as they prepared for the weekly lessons. An accomplished musician, she was frequently asked to play the piano for each of these organizations. Peggy enjoyed writing poetry for friends. She also liked to travel, and attended several reunions of the Ship’s Association for the USS Plymouth Rock (LSD-29), for which her late husband had been a plank owner. She is survived by her daughter Deborah and her husband Michael, of Springfield; her son Milton and his wife Erika, of Somersworth; her daughter Nancy Cauthren of Barrington, New Hampshire; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild. Family and friends are invited to gather for a celebration of Peggy’s life at Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield at 7:30 pm on Thursday, May 21, 2015. A memorial service will also be held at Faith Baptist Church in Somersworth at 11 am on Monday, May 25, 2015, with interment to follow at the New Town Cemetery in Rollinsford, New Hampshire. Although Peggy loved flowers, she asked that family and friends consider a contribution to the enduring work of organizations that meant a lot to her: • Bible Study Fellowship, 19001 Huebner Road, San Antonio, Texas 78258-4019 or www.bsfinternational.org; • Sarah Orne Jewett Chapter #176, Order of the Eastern Star, 16 Morningside Drive, Dover, New Hampshire 03820; or • Faith Baptist Church, 25 Cemetery Road, Somersworth, New Hampshire 03878.