Margaret "Peggy" Joan Schoenick's Obituary
Margaret "Peggy" Joan Kennedy Schoenick 84 longtime resident of Salt Lake City, Utah passed away peacefully on Saturday January 10, 2026 of age related heart failure. Peggy was born on November 14, 1941 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Daniel Noble Kennedy and Margaret Eleanor Fisher Kennedy. She attended King's Garden Christian High School.
She continued her education at the University of Montana, graduating in 1966, with a degree in Elementary Education. Peggy married Frederic "Fred" Robert Schoenick on August 9, 1966 in Coeur D' Alene Idaho (later divorced)Together, they had 2 children, Margaret and Catherine "Cathy." After divorcing, Peggy moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to raise her girls. She often spoke of being a mother, as her greatest joy and accomplishment.
She lived in a time that stigmatized single motherhood and mental illness. She struggled daily with a beautiful madness, that eventually fractured her family. She fought to overcome discouragement and poverty, as she tried to make sense of her personal chaos. She relied on her unshakeable faith in God and Jesus Christ, as evidenced by her well worn pages of her Bible. She believed that every rock, plant, cloud in the sky, and sunset testified of God's love for her. Peggy had a brilliant mind, and was incredibly artistic. She lived life on her terms and to the fullest.
Peggy loved nature. She often found solace in growing things. She loved expressing herself through poetry, art, journaling/writing, scrapbooking, and photographic collage. She made many friends and allies among the misfits, eccentrics, hippies, and those who didn't quite fit in. She was a free spirit and a rolling stone, moving often while searching for greener pastures. She picked up quite a menagerie of people, dogs, cats, and gerbils, during her wanderings. She was generous to a fault and would give the shirt off her back, if she felt anyone needed it. She constantly tried to lift the downtrodden. Whether it was a stray human or animal, there was always room for everyone at her house. She sought to ease everyone's burdens, while trying to lift her own. Peggy was a pro at creating silk purses out of a sow's ears. She did not let poverty (or other people's opinions) stop her. She managed to survive and get by with her sewing skills, thriftiness, frugality, upcycling, and "making do". She was truly ahead of her time. She did her best and, in the end, it was enough.
Peggy is survived by herDaughter Margaret Elizabeth Schoenick Hokanson(Mike Knight - Divorced - Deceased)(Jerry Hokanson - Deceased)Grandson Daniel Knight (Katie)Grandson Cole Hokanson (McKenna)Great Grandson Ozzy Hokanson Great Granddaughter Scotty Hokanson Grandson Trenton Hokanson Grandson Chase Hokanson Granddaughter Abigail HokansonDaughter Catherine "Cathy" Joan Schoenick (Later Cathy Sarah Cook) Clark(Stephen Clark)Granddaughter Rachael Clark Doty (Joseph) Great Grandson Nathan Doty Grandson Andrew Clark (Aislin)Great Granddaughter Hadley Clark Great Granddaughter Matilda Clark Granddaughter Suzanne Clark Brother David "Dave" Kennedy Brother John Kennedy.
Peggy is preceded in death by her Parents Daniel and Margaret Kennedy Sister Elizabeth "Betsy" Kennedy Conrady Brother James "Jim" Kennedy
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