The community of Andersonville, Sumter County, the state of Georgia and people from all over the country have lost a treasure as we all mourn the death of Peggy Sheppard who died Oct. 21 in her sleep at her home in Andersonville.
Miss Peggy, as she was affectionately known, was a transplant from New York state, having married a local son, Fred Sheppard. She embraced Sumter County and the town of Andersonville. She and the late Lewis Easterlin, former mayor of Andersonville, worked in tandem to make the tiny town into a Civil War Village which has become a huge tourist destination.
Miss Peggy, along with Easterlin and others, started the Andersonville Historic Fair, a tradition that continues today, attracting thousands of visitors annually. She was largely instrumental in the building of Pioneer Park and the purchase of the Drummer Boy Civil War Museum in Andersonville.
Miss Peggy was an educator for 22 years, touching the lives of a multitude of children. She also served as the tourism director for Andersonville and director and past president of the Andersonville Guild and Andersonville Trail Association. She was a talented writer, having worked as assistant editor of the Georgia Magazine and the Georgia Life Magazine. She free-lanced as well, and was a long-time contributor to her “hometown” newspaper, the Americus Times-Recorder.
Miss Peggy was a woman of fine character, with a wicked-good sense of humor. She was a loyal friend, a devoted wife and mother and someone who dearly loved Andersonville. Although her health prevented her from being actively engaged in the past few years, she still contributed by writing for the Times-Recorder from time to time.
Heaven welcomed a new angel earlier this week and when Jacob sounded his trumpet, he surely played “Dixie,” to honor a wonderful woman whose heart, although born a Yankee, will rest forever in her beloved South.