Peggy Odom Chesnut, 87, of Gaylesville, died in Redmond Hospital, Rome Georgia Thursday, April 24, 2014. Her death came as the result of complications related to a long illness. Her family was present at the end of this life and she passed peacefully into the next.
Peggy, or “Peg” as she preferred her grandchildren to call her, was born December 7, 1926, the youngest child of Walter C. and Maude Odom of Fairfield Alabama. After High School, she attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. She met her future husband, Clarence Chesnut, Jr. when he, while a student at Birmingham Southern College, boarded with Peggy’s sister, Elaine and her husband, Billy Jim Wilson. Peggy and Clarence were married on November 21, 1948 and she became a resident of Gaylesville Alabama.
Peggy was an avid reader and loved classical music. She was a member of Gaylesville Methodist Church until its close and served the Church with her faithful presence and willingness to serve on many administrative boards and committees. Perhaps her greatest service was to the other members of the congregation who had the good fortune to hear her singing as a member of the choir and as a soloist. She was blessed with a beautiful voice and shared this gift freely with the Church and individuals as a soloist at weddings. Most importantly, she was a devoted mother to her four sons, taking on the role of single parent after the untimely death of her husband.
Peggy was preceded in death by her husband, Clarence Chesnut, Jr., her Brother, Walter L “Buck” Odom, and her sister Janice L. Bacon. She is survived by her sister, Elaine Wilson of Birmingham, four sons, Richard Chesnut and his wife, Betty of Huntsville, Randy Chesnut and his wife, Mary of Gaylesville, Danny Chesnut and his wife Jana of Centre, and Tim Chesnut and his wife, Angela of Coosa, Georgia, eight Grandchildren, Patrick, Lauren, Kate, Stephen, Claire, Julia, Abigail and Lillian and six Great-grandchildren, Caroline, Patrick, Anna Louise, Ruth, James Ellis, and Betsy
She fought the good fight, she finished the race and she kept the faith.
The family wants to recognize and give special thanks to Dr. Ritu Khurana and the staff of Harbin Clinic Dialysis Center of Summerville and Rome. In Lieu of Flowers, the family requests donations in the memory of Peggy Chesnut to the Gaylesville Volunteer Fire Department in recognition of their professional, compassionate and prompt response to those in need.