Margaret Ann "Peggy" Mendel, age 71, passed away on Monday, January 15, 2024. She was born on February 2, 1952, in Shiner, Texas, and was the youngest daughter of Joe F. and Elsie Steffek.  She lived at her family's homestead on the Lavaca River until 1958, when the Steffek family moved to their ranch north of Hallettsville.  Peggy enjoyed helping her parents on the ranch and loved all the animals.

Peggy graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 1970 and went on to obtain her bachelor's at Southwest Texas and her master's from the University of Houston.  Peggy taught at Ezell School for over three decades.

In March of 2004, Peggy married her husband, Robert "Bobby" Mendel, and they lived on their ranch in St. John, Texas.  They were very involved in their community and their church and were the main organizers of the Fourth of July St. John picnic.  They loved socializing with their friends, dancing polkas, and traveling.  As a lover of animals, Peggy rescued Poncho, an orange tabby cat with a special personality.

Peggy was preceded in death by her parents.  Surviving in addition to her husband are her siblings, Leona Moore and her husband Pat, and James Steffek and his wife Marsha; and her nieces, Heather Faske, Shelley Pernot, Paige Woodring, and Lisa Steffek.

Services will be held on Friday, January 19, 2024, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in St. John. Visitation will begin at 12:00 p.m. with the rosary to be recited at 1:30 p.m. and funeral mass at 2:00 p.m. Interment will follow in the parish cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the St. John Building Fund or the Ezell School, 20500 FM 531, Hallettsville, TX 77964.