Margaret J. “Peggy” Toups, of Beaumont, passed away on May 16, 2015. Peggy was born in Harvey, Illinois, on October 10, 1932, and she later moved to Southeast Texas with her father at a young age. Peggy attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, Texas, and then attended Lamar Tech as well as Hotel Dieu School of Nursing and became a Registered Nurse (RN). She was actually involved in the care of “Babe” Didrikson Zaharius, while she was at Hotel Dieu as a young nurse.

After working as a registered nurse for several years, Peggy left the work force to raise her six children. Peggy re-entered the work place in the early 1980’s working for the State of Texas overseeing Home Health Agencies. She later worked as the Director of Texas Home Health Agency in Beaumont before retiring in 1992.

Peggy was a lifelong nurse and helped many people for many years- always for free. She cared about her community and she spent many Christmas days and Thanksgiving days helping to feed those less fortunate or bring them clothes. Peggy had a vibrant personality, and “never met a stranger” in her life. She loved to laugh and tell jokes: a trait she inherited from her own vivacious father, Wendell. As such, her sense of humor was prominent, even up to her last day.  Peggy loved her close friends, Dot Trahan, Johnnie Frazier (fellow nurse classmate) and Maggie Guidroz like they were her own sisters.  She would always want to know how they were doing even when she was unable to travel to see them.  She talked about her close friends on a daily basis for more than 50 years.

Peggy also loved her two dogs (they never left her side) and she even had her brother, Scott Meents, paint a portrait of one of them, which she admired every day.  She also loved her brother Mark, and she would smile when she heard he would be in town, as he so reminded her of her father, Wendell.  She will be greatly missed by her family and friends, as she brought so much joy to those who knew and loved her.  We know that as soon as she gets to heaven, she will not be able to wait to see her father (Wendell) and her beloved stepmother (Dorothy) who will welcome her home to a world without pain and sickness.  The family would like to thank the many doctors and nurses at Baptist Hospital, Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital and the employees at Jefferson Nursing Home and all of the people that helped Peggy endure her struggles over the last five years, especially her “at home” assistant, Laurie, whom she loved dearly.

She is survived by her six children, Mitchell Toups and his wife, Tonya Toups; Wendy Toups; Suzanne Toups; Steven Toups and his wife, Dette Toups, all of Beaumont; Andy Toups of Houston; and Janet Toups of New York City; ten grandchildren and three step-grandchildren, whom she adored, Peyton Toups, Chris Nolan, Brad Bradford, Taylor Toups, Reese Toups, Connor Toups, Griffin Toups, Anderson Toups, Phoebe Toups, April Wilson, Alexandra Adams, Gilbert Adams, and Jacqueline “Bini” Adams.  Peggy also adored her four great-grandchildren, Allie Wilson, Charlize Berwick, Ethan Berwick, and Hunter Bradford; her stepsister, Victoria Allen of Houston; and two stepbrothers, Mark Meents of Houston and Scott Meents of Port Neches.

Peggy was preceded in death by her father, Wendell Meents; her mother, Elizabeth Meents; and her beloved stepmother, Dorothy Meents. 

In lieu of flowers, and due to Peggy’s love of animals, the family asks that any donations be made to the Humane Society of Southeast Texas, P.O. Box 1629, Beaumont, Texas 77704, in her name.