Margaret ‘Peg’ Larson, 85, of Austin, died Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, at Comforcare Good Samaritan Center.

Margaret Louise Williams was born March 30, 1927, in Kansas City, Mo., to Chester A. and Mary A. (Meagher) Williams. Peg graduated from Kansas City Central High School in 1944, and attended Westport Junior College in Kansas City through 1945. Peg relocated to a family farm in southern Minnesota in 1948 and worked as a secretary for various companies in Austin and Rochester, Minn. It was during this time that Peg met and married Roger D. Larson of Austin. The couple married on April 15, 1950. Peg and Roger moved to a house in Austin’s ‘Dutchtown’ neighborhood of 13th Street NE in the mid-1950s with their two young sons, Dale and Roger T. There the “legacy” of Peg began. Peg loved the neighborhood that included, among others, the Ball, Whalen, Beckel and Herzog families. Peg thrived in the neighborhood, and her self-described “diarrhea of the mouth” served her well (she loved to talk!). Peg loved everyone and enjoyed the “open-door” policy of the neighborhood.

Peg volunteered and worked for various charity organizations during her lifetime, including Cystic Fibrosis, Easter Seals, March of Dimes, Heart Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis and the Kidney Foundation. Peg was also formally recognized for her service by the Arthritis Foundation Minnesota Chapter for being “a key telephone recruiter in over 80 Minnesota communities for over 20 years.”

Peg suffered a massive stroke at home in February 2004, which left her paralyzed on her entire left side. The diagnosis was “six months to live” at the time. Peg had to leave her beloved 13th Street NE and enter the Comforcare Good Samaritan Center within a few weeks. Peg’s passion for life, her love of family and friends and her intense love of all Minnesota-related sports allowed her to rally several times and be with us for nearly nine more years. (Special thanks to the great staff at Comforcare!)

“Peg carved out a little piece of life that no one else would have been happy with.”

Peg was preceded in death by her parents Mary and Chester Williams; husband Roger D Larson; brothers and sisters Thomas, Katherine Terry, Dorothy Johnston and Chester J. Peg is survived and dearly missed by sons Dale (Saundra) of Bloomington, Minn., Roger T. (Mary) of Austin; grandchildren Colleen (Jason Webb) of Des Moines, Iowa, James of St. Paul, Minn., Dax (Callie) of Bemidji, Minn.; great-grandchildren Gaige, Caitlin, Dylan and two more in 2013; niece Marilyn Jackson of Wytheville, Va.; many other loving relatives and very great friends.

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6 at the Worlein Funeral Home Chapel in Austin with Father Raul Silva officiating. Visitation will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday. Interment will be in the Oakwood Cemetery columbarium. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.worlein.com.