Peggy Shumard

Peggy Lou Robertson Shumard, age 81, of Odessa passed away on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, after a years-long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, December 15, at 1:00 PM, at Sunset Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, with Reverend Jimmy Pena officiating.

Peggy was born on October 5, 1939, in Bryan County, Oklahoma, the fifth of eight children and the third daughter of Walter and Ruby Robertson.  With eight kids in the family, there was never a dull moment in the Robertson household.  Her childhood and teenage years were spent in Oklahoma, West Texas, and eastern New Mexico, and she graduated from Lovington High School in 1958.

On September 25, 1959, she married her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, Donald Wayne Shumard, in Lovington, New Mexico.  The next year, they welcomed their son Dennis DeWayne, and he was joined a few years later by his sister Cynthia (Cindy) Dawn, making their family complete.  They lived in several different towns in West Texas and New Mexico, and settled in Odessa in 1975.

Peggy worked for many years at the Merle Norman Studios in Odessa, where she enjoyed helping her customers look their best, and helping her customers’ husbands with their Christmas shopping!  Her sisters, nieces, daughter, and daughter-in-law were also the beneficiaries of her expertise and generosity with skin care and makeup advice and products.  She was a longtime member of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors and the Sigma Delta Chapter of the women’s international service organization Epsilon Sigma Alpha.

Peggy loved games and contests, and she delighted in getting everyone involved in playing games at family gatherings.  She especially liked to win, whether it was CD’s, concert tickets, a trip to Nashville, or a game of Spinner around the dining room table.  During her last few months, she was an avid watcher of the Game Show Network.  Cooking was another source of joy for her, with cakes, cookies, and angel biscuits being among her specialties, along with divinity (with and without nuts) and peanut patties for the holidays.  She loved to travel, especially on cruises, and she and Don enjoyed lots of great trips together, making many wonderful friends and memories.

She is survived and will be greatly missed by her husband of 61 years, Don Shumard; her son and daughter-in-law, Dennis and Flaire Shumard; her daughter and son-in-law, Cindy and Robert Kager; and her grandson, Grayson Shumard.  She is also survived by two sisters, Pat Race and Beth Springer; one brother, Alven Robertson; two sisters-in-law, Billie Robertson and JoAnn Black; and many nieces and nephews.  She is preceded by her parents; two brothers, Wendell Robertson and Tommy Robertson; and two sisters, Shirley Purser and Ruth Mariner.

In lieu of flowers please donate to American Parkinson Disease Association: Hope in Progress (apdaparkinson.org).

Psalm 73:26 – My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Arrangements are entrusted to Sunset Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home.  To send condolences to the family, please sign her guestbook at www.sunsetodessa.com.