Right after her graduation from Mount Saint Agnes College in Baltimore in 1966, Peggy McGee was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Women’s Army Corps. Her first assignments were in personnel and administration, two of the three fields opened to Army women at that time. Her last assignment while on active duty was as Death Notification/Survivor Assistance Officer during the Vietnam Conflict, one of the first women ever assigned to that duty.
After her release from active duty in 1970, she joined the Army Reserve where she remained in a variety of administrative and personnel positions until her retirement as Colonel in 1996.
Peggy’s last civilian job before retiring was as Director of Communications with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration. She and her husband John, a retired Marine, both retired on the same day and moved to Quail Creek three weeks later in April 2005, leaving their two children in Northern Virginia. She immediately became involved with activities in the community. Not knowing how to say no, she was elected secretary of The Women of Quail Creek and later president where she worked to change the character of Quail Creek’s largest chartered club with 309 members from a purely social organization to one that also reaches out to help others. Under her leadership, the club began what are now annual clothing drives for homeless veterans in the Tucson region, an annual baby shower for National Guard soldiers and spouses; the next one is August 10 and the club is gratefully accepting donations of baby items in the bin in the lobby. The club sponsors two food drives each year for the local Food Bank, which received over $10K from their cookbook project and is currently selling thermal totes to benefit Genesis House for Victims of Domestic Abuse in the Green Valley area. And for the sixth year in a row TWOQC has collected Food for the Troops drive as part of our Fourth of July celebration.
Outside of Quail Creek, Peggy can be found working as a Financial Educator and Budget Counselor for Valley Assistance Services, as a volunteer tax preparer for AARP during tax season, and on several committees at San Martin de Porres Parish.
Because of her spirit of giving of her time and talent, Peggy was recently recognized as a Champion by the Green Valley News.
When asked what she does in her spare time, she asks, “What spare time?”