Peggie Jo Spada

St. Paul, October 3, 1932 - October 23, 2026

Peggie Jo Spada, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend passed away on October 23, 2026 having just reached the age of 94.

Born in Ulysses, Kansas her family moved to Portland, Oregon during the dust bowl to preserve the health of one of her younger brothers. Peggie attended Gregory Heights Elementary School and Grant High School.

It was the move to Portland that put her near her future husband. She had always told her family that she "was going to marry a farmer". When a retired schoolteacher who lived a block over from her family's home approached her mother about the older children going with her to work on a vegetable farm in the summer, it was Peggie’s prophecy come true. The farm belonged to the Spada family and she and the rest of her siblings worked on the farm for many years. The youngest of the Spada children, Richard, would become her loving husband of 47 years before he passed in 2000.

Peggie was a Christian, starting her religious journey at Calvary Presbyterian in Portland with services, bible study and youth activities. When she and Richard married, she made a vow to raise any children with the Catholic faith. She faithfully did just that and at the time her oldest child married, she had made the decision to convert to Catholicism. She attended St. Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul, Oregon until her health made it difficult for her to do so.

Peggie had a lifelong love of gardening. She spent many happy hours in her vegetable and flower garden. She served her St. Paul community teaching religion classes and serving on the committee that started an endowment for the parochial school. She was the bookkeeper until the late 1970's for the farming business that her husband and brother-in-law operated.

Peggie is survived by her children: Richard (Bette) of Molalla, OR; Angelo (Joan) of St. Paul, OR; Janet Steinkamp (Michael) of Woodburn, OR; Rosemarie (Bryant Hays) of Aurora, OR; Jennie (Jacob Sternfeld) of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Cosmo of St. Paul OR; Peggie (Chris Peterson) of Portland ,OR; sister, Janis Wiebe-Thiessen of Dallas, OR and sister-in-law Judy Schmatjen of Lake Oswego, OR. She leaves behind 11 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren and many beloved nieces and nephews. She was pre-deceased by 2 granddaughters.

Services will be held at St. Paul Catholic Church, St. Paul, OR, on Wednesday, November 18, 2026. Rosary will be at 10:00 am and funeral at 10:30 am. Burial will immediately follow the funeral mass at St. Paul Catholic Cemetery. A luncheon reception will take place at St. Paul Community Hall after the burial. Contributions can be made to St. Paul Parochial School Endowment Fund P.O. Box 188 St .Paul, OR 97137 or St. Paul Fire Department P.O. Box 1 St. Paul, OR 97137. Arrangements by Unger Funeral Chapel - Silverton.