Margaret “Peggy” Dowd
Margaret Louise “Peggy” Challberg Dowd, 97, passed peacefully in the Simpson Health Center at Friendship Haven in the early hours of Tuesday, February 18, 2025. She was surrounded by her devoted friends Henrietta Van Maanen and Gwenda Naylor and had just had the opportunity to say goodbye to her sons before she left us. Peggy had major surgery in December 2024, and never bounced back the way she hoped. The Fort Dodge Unity Point Hospice team and the staff at Friendship Haven, where she lived for nearly 20 years, provided incredible care and devotion and Peggy has now moved on to begin her next adventure.
A Celebration of Life for Peggy will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 15, 2025, in the Celebration Center at Friendship Haven, 420 Kenyon Road, Fort Dodge, Iowa, 50501. A private interment will take place at North Lawn Cemetery. The family is being served by Laufersweiler Funeral Home.
Peggy was a great Mom and wife, a true friend and a good shepherd to countless beneficiaries of her life of giving and service. She led a rich and textured life. Born June 10, 1927, in Northwood, Iowa, Peggy, except for her first six months, was a lifelong resident of (and booster of) Fort Dodge. Peggy attended Riverside School, Junior and Senior High Schools, and Iowa State College (now ISU) in Ames, Iowa. Peggy was the Salutatorian of her large Senior High Class of 1945. Her parents were Clarence and Mae (Hamilton) Challberg. Peggy and her husband of 53 years Thomas J. Dowd (d 2001) raised four children: Thomas S. (Karen); Steven (d 2020); Laurel Davis (Larry) (d 2014), and Daniel (Karen). Peggy has seven grandchildren, one great-granddaughter, and many nieces and nephews.
Peggy was a lifelong member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church, where she served as a church organist for over 20 years. She was a member of Catholic Daughters of America (CDA), and a longtime volunteer for Iowa Radio Reading Information Service (IRIS). For 25 years she managed Prefact Co., a premium finance subsidiary of Dowd Insurance. She served on countless committees and was a frequent substitute teacher in the Catholic school system. Her life was marked by strong love of family, unyielding faith and a sense of community, justice and social engagement. Peggy was deeply involved in and supportive of her family's activities and well-being. She was extremely social and enjoyed joining good friends for coffee, cards, bowling (into her nineties), golf, yoga, bingo and a host of other activities. As one of the charter residents of Kenyon Place, she formed many friendships and worked hard with Friendship Haven leadership to enhance and enrich the lives of its residents. She loved hosting regular Saturday night pizza parties, complete with fruit wine and the Lawrence Welk show. Resilient and strong, she remained active and caring well into her nineties, impressing those around her with her energy, commitment, daring, and zest for life. She will be missed greatly.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions can be left to the discretion of the family to benefit Friendship Haven's Good Samaritan Fund, the Webster County Historical Society, and the Fort Dodge Fort and Museum.