Margaret Peggy" Helen Durnell of Fort Wayne, Indiana, left this world for her eternal peace on Saturday, November 5, 2011, with family and friends by her side. She was born Margaret Helen Lee, daughter of Charles and Ethel Lee, on March 12, 1944. After spending precious early years in Stamford, Connecticut Peggy moved with her family to Fort Wayne where she attended Harrison Hill Elementary and later South Side High School. She pursued a degree in Fine Art and Elementary Education at Hillsdale College in Michigan, where she joined Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for women. After college, Peggy married and accepted a position teaching 2nd grade at Southwick Elementary, where she was beloved by her students and fellow staff members. She left her teaching career in 1971 to become a homemaker and devote her life to raising her two sons, Jonathan R. and Andrew C. Durnell. She was involved in the PTA and in all aspects of her children's lives. While caring for her family, Peggy simultaneously pursued her passion to become an artist. She began to do commissioned pen and ink drawings of historic homes and buildings. Her success and notoriety grew each year as she entered shows, won awards, and was featured at local and regional galleries. She became among the most noted in the area in her medium, and was very active in the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Her work was featured in the official Fort Wayne bi-centennial calendar, and many of her pieces are still proudly displayed in businesses and homes across the community. As her children were preparing to "leave the nest", Peggy earned a Master of Social Work degree from University of Saint Francis. She accepted a position at Park Center where she used her counseling skills to help others for over 13 years. Peggy's other interests included spending time with her grandchildren (Samantha, Genevieve, and Jonas), home improvement projects, gardening, crossword puzzles, and traveling to Long Island, New York. She also had a wonderful sense of humor and was constantly laughing and making humorous observations about life. Her friends describe her as caring, genuine, hard-working and always quick with a laugh or smile. Whether teaching children, raising her own children, counseling others, creating wonderful works of art, or laughing with family and friends, Peggy was always doing something to make the world a better and more beautiful place. She will be loved and remembered always...and always with a smile. Peggy is survived by her mother, Ethel V. Lee; sisters, Kathy (Roger) Yule and Alison (Dean) Bauer; former husband, Les Durnell; sons, Jonathan (Tammy) and Andrew (Erin) Durnell; grandchildren, Samantha, Genevieve, and Jonas; and many extended family members and friends. She was preceded in death by her father, Charles M. Lee. Memorial Service is 1pm Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at D.O. McComb and Sons Lakeside Park Funeral Home, 1140 Lake Avenue, with pastor Betty Frolick officiating. Visitation begins two hour prior to service. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions in her name to the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. To sign the online guestbook go to www.mccombandsons.com.