Margaret Kern

TRAVERSE CITY- Margaret Evelyn Kern, wife, mother, teacher, of Traverse City died peacefully at Munson Medical Center from congestive heart failure. She was 97 years old.

Margaret, better know as “Peggy” was born June 25, 1923 in Detroit. She was the daughter of Dr. Roy and Evelyn Laird of Highland Park, Michigan.

Peggy grew up in Highland Park and graduated from Highland Park High School in 1941. She then enrolled at Michigan Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) to pursue her degree in teaching. While at Michigan Normal she met her future husband, Robert “Bob” Kern. Their courtship was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. During the war years Peggy taught elementary school in rural Wayne County.

Upon Bob’s return from service the couple was married on June 24, 1945. Bob and Peggy raised four boys, David, Michael, Tom, and John in Royal Oak.

After Bob’s retirement in 1984 the couple retired to Beverly Hills Florida. For the next 30 plus years they spent winters in Florida and summers at the family cottage on East Bay. Peggy’s connection with East Bay started when her parents purchased the family cottage on Shawnee Street in 1939. The cottage on East Bay was Peggy’s favorite place. She always said she felt the most “at home” there. As a young mother of four boys she often spent the summer afternoons on the beach watching her sons swim and frolic in the clear waters of East Bay. Peggy was a fabulous baker and all her boys looked forward to her famous graham cracker whipped cream cake on their birthdays as well as her chocolate chip cookies that seem to somehow always stay fresh and chewy. She loved reading and during her retirement years would consume up to three books a week.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 71 years Bob in 2016. Surviving are her sons David of Kathmandu Nepal, Michael of Petoskey, Tom (Rosie) of Traverse City and John (Anne) of Coeur d Alene, Idaho. Grandchildren include Michelle Converse, Holly Garces, Amanda Mancilla, Matthew Kern, Thomas Kern, Melanie Kern, Christian Kern, Peggy Kern, Samantha Kern and six great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her younger sister Jean Greg of West Covina, California.

As a result of the COVID 19 pandemic a private family memorial service will be postponed to a later date. Friends and family are encouraged to donate to the charity of their choice in Peggy’s name.

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