Margaret "Peg" Kerley Markham

Margaret “Peg” Kerley Markham, 96, of Denver, passed away on March 15, 2022. Born on February 26, 1926, she was the only child to Paul and Ruth Kerley. Peg grew up in rural southern Kansas. Even though she lived through the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, she lived a happy childhood with her family. She graduated at just 16 years old from Wichita North High School and attended Wichita State University. During WWII, Peg took a college year off and worked as a “Rosie the Riveter” at Boeing Aircraft, working on the line building planes. Later, she headed to Indiana University to study criminology and graduated with a B.S in Sociology. Her first job at the age of 21 years was at the Federal Reformatory for Women in Alderson, West Virginia. There she worked with the likes of Iva Toguri D’Aquino, better known as Tokyo Rose. She returned to Kansas in 1950, working as a social worker in McPherson, Kansas. In 1956, she moved with her 9-month-old daughter, Katherine, to Colorado where she was the head secretary for the athletic department at the Air Force Academy - first at Lowry Air Force Base and then in Colorado Springs when the Academy was completed. In 1961, she received her teaching certificate and taught first grade at Swansea Elementary in Denver. She received her Masters in Education in guidance counseling from Wichita State University in 1968, then was hired by Denver Public Schools to develop the first elementary counseling program for the district. After the death of her mother in 1969, Peg and her daughter returned to Kansas to be with Peg’s father until he died in 1973. She remained in Kansas, working as a high school counselor at Campus High School in Haysville until her retirement in 1990. She returned to her beloved Colorado where she spent 32 years traveling the seven continents, attending theatre/concerts, singing in her church choir, volunteering for many organizations, and spending as much time as she could in the Vail Valley with her daughter and family. She adored her grandchildren and attended countless hockey and volleyball games, dance recitals, and school events. She took her grandson and granddaughter on separate European trips, passing on her love for travel. We will dearly miss her quick wit, great sense of humor, and infectious laugh. Peg is survived by her daughter Katherine Markham Schmidt and son-in-law Corey, Eagle, CO; grandson Garrett, Newport, WA; and granddaughter Lauren, Denver, CO. The family would also like to acknowledge the caring, loving, and supportive staff at the Gardens at St. Elizabeth where Peg lived for the last twelve years. Many were like family. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Friends of Man, 5594 S Prince St., Littleton, CO 80120-1126 or any organization of your choice.