Peggy C. Jetmund, 87, died May 12 in her home just outside of Gilbertville, Iowa.

She was born May 1, 1921, in Hampton, Iowa, the daughter of Thomas Ignatius and Elsie Elizabeth Depping Christie.

She married Raymond Irvin Jetmund on August 1, 1948, in Dows, Iowa. He predeceased her on Dec. 13, 1974.

Peggy attended MacMurray College in Illinois for two years, later graduating magna cum laude in 1943 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, with a bachelor of arts degree in music education. Not long after the death of her husband, and with a youngster still at home, she returned to college and earned a master of arts degree in special education from Iowa State University.

Peggy was a gifted pianist who started when she was 4, and a talented teacher with more than 60 years teaching hundreds of students to play the piano. She also taught public school music following graduation from Drake, and later special education following graduation from Iowa State. Special education especially gave her an opportunity to fully express the depth of her innate understanding, compassion, and commitment to students and their needs.

Dows, Calendar, Alexander, Marshalltown, Hampton, Boone, Ames, Story City, Farnhamville, Somers, and Rinard are a few of the schools graced by her presence. She retired from public education in 1993 after 15 years at Jesup Community School.

Peggy continued with private piano lessons until 2006, managing to fit in progressively longer visits to the Vineyard where her daughter Diane resides. Peggy loved the Island, insisting on daily drives along the water’s edge ending with a trip to the local Dairy Queen for a small hot fudge sundae. She made many friends on the Island including a spunky group of peers and staff doing great things in a historical building overlooking the Edgartown harbor — her cherished supportive day program.

Dedicated to music and education through active participation, she served on numerous boards and committees. As a certified adjudicator for the Piano Guild and other music competitions, she traveled all over the United States.

Survivors include her three children, C. Diane Jetmund of West Tisbury, Douglas R. Jetmund of Evansdale, Iowa, and Leisa M. Phillips, wife of Darrell Phillips, of Gilbertville, Iowa; six grandchildren, Jolaine Mills of Oakland, Iowa, Jade Graves of Nashua, N.H., Runa Jetmund of Phoenix, Ariz., Benjamin Phillips of Warrensburg, Mo., Bartholomew Phillips of Albuquerque, N.M., and Brittany Phillips of Ruthven, Iowa; and three great-grandchildren: Joshua Mills, Christan Mills and Tianna Graves.

Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 19, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Gilbertville, with burial in the Ames Municipal Cemetery next to her husband. Friends may call at the Hagarty-Waychoff-Grarup Funeral Parlor, 400 South St., Waterloo, Iowa, from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Memorials may be directed to the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Gilbertville, Iowa, or the Cedar Valley Hospice, Waterloo, Iowa.