Mary Margaret Peggy Marcavish

LIBERTY TWP. - Peggy Marcavish, 70, of Liberty, passed away on Sunday, October 15, 2023 at Hospice House in Youngstown.  Peggy was born Mary Margaret Nelson on February 12, 1953 to Marge and Mick Nelson of 109 Roslyn Drive on the North Side.  After attending St. Edward Elementary and Junior High Schools and graduating from Ursuline High School in 1971, Peggy went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University in 1976 and a master’s degree from Youngstown State University.

With father Mick having passed away, Peggy moved back to the North Side after college, sharing a home with mother Marge and aunt Rosemary Sferra.  The three roommates got along so well that Peggy didn’t change to a new one until August 21, 1992, when she married William Marcavish.  Even then, Peggy remained less than a mile from Marge and Rosie, keeping the trio famously intact until Marge’s passing in 1997.  Soon thereafter, the Marcavishes welcomed Peggy’s old roommate into their home, where Rosie happily remained until her death last March at age 93.

Despite Peggy’s strong bonds with her mother and aunt—and as they aged, their increasing dependence on her—Peggy’s devotion to her husband, Bill, was unmistakable.  Their marriage was marked by frequent escapes to their mountain home in the Allegheny National Forest, a long line of Labrador retrievers, and the dovetailing of Peggy’s love of cooking (especially Italian) with Bill’s consistent appetite.  Yet the couple was not literally inseparable; whenever Bill’s taste for the outdoors and fresh fish would bring him far beyond Peggy’s comfort zone to the Canadian wilderness, Peggy would be content to plan and make her own visits to, or with, Nelsons and Sferras in Texas, Arizona, Las Vegas, Hawaii, or Italy.

Peggy’s loved ones were not the only beneficiaries of her care and compassion for others.  For countless special-education students at Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Taft Elementary Schools, Miss Nelson or Mrs. Marcavish is remembered as a favorite teacher.  Peggy complemented her nearly four decades of weekday service to the Youngstown City School District by spending frequent evenings and Sundays with her faith community at St. Edward Parish—as a teacher of CCD classes, a member of Parish Council, or a Eucharistic Minister to the homebound.

In addition to her dear parents, Peggy was preceded in death by her grandparents, Stephen J. & Mary L. Sferra and Robert & Margaret Nelson; infant brothers, Stephen and Thomas; and sisters-in-law Carole M. Nelson and Mary Ehrnschwender Nelson.  Besides her husband, Peggy is survived by brothers Robert M. of Amherst, Ohio, Michael E. (Olena) of Naples, Florida, and Joseph S. Nelson (Monica) of Fulshear, Texas; nieces and nephews Sue Nelson Blessinger and Steve, Doug, Amanda, Jodie, and Joey Nelson; stepsons Max and Ian (Christine) Marcavish; Max and Laura Marcavish’s children, Emily and Alex, who adored their Grandma Peg; sister-in-law Carol (Tom) Veauthier; and 38 first cousins in Peggy’s extended Sferra family, many of whom also considered her a dear friend.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, October 21 at 12:00 noon at St. Edward Church, 240 Tod Lane, Youngstown, OH 44504.  Family and friends may call from 10:00 to 11:45 a.m.  To honor Peggy’s memory, please consider making a donation in her name to St. Edward Parish or to Hospice of the Valley.

Thoughts and condolences may be sent to the funeral home website www.mccauleyfuneral.com.

Arrangements by The McCauley Funeral Home privileged to serve the valley for more than 121 Years!

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