Margaret "Peggy" Jane Neff

Margaret “Peggy” Jane Neff, age 98, of Homestead Village, Lancaster, died after a brief illness on Monday, June 10, 2024. Born December 7, 1925, Peggy was the daughter of the late Christian Minnich and Myrtle Frantz Neff. She was preceded in death by her sister, Nancy Neff Tanger. The sisters’ family heritage was Lime Spring Farm in East Hempfield Township, an early Lancaster County homestead of 118 acres from 1717. The two stone houses, built in 1720 and 1769, are among the oldest in the county. The farm was home to nine generations of Lehmans, later Frantzes, Neffs, and Stauffers, all philanthropically and politically connected to the Lancaster community. In 2004, Peggy and Nancy were the last family members to move off the farm. The family donated the $6 million proceeds from the farm’s sale to the Lancaster County Historical Society, now LancasterHistory, where a 2013 addition is known as the Stauffer Wing. Peggy graduated in 1943 from Shippen School for Girls, now Lancaster Country Day School. She earned a degree in Early Childhood Education from New York University, from which she was recruited to create a kindergarten in Los Alamos, New Mexico – she taught the children of the scientists working on the Manhattan Project and the Native American children whose fathers were building the facility. Family beckoned her back east to Long Island, where she taught before receiving a Fulbright scholarship to teach in Scotland. In 1960 Peggy went to Minneapolis, Minnesota to help start a coeducational Independent School – Highcroft Country Day – which later merged with the Blake School. She earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Macalester College in St. Paul. The failing health of her sister brought Peggy back to Lancaster for good in 1997, the good of Nancy, the good of Peggy, and certainly the good of Lancaster. Peggy has been an advocate of educational, art, and humanitarian organizations, among them Hospice & Community Care, Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute, Samaritan Center, International Piano Festival, Fulton Theatre, Lancaster Country Day School, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and Milagro House, as well as the Ware and Winter Centers of Millersville University. She supported the Tanger Arboretum at Lancaster History, created by Nancy’s mother-in-law, Louise Arnold Tanger, and later sustained by Nancy and “Charlie” Tanger. Most recently, Peggy supported Barry Kornhauser, his outreach initiatives, and family programming. Peggy was recognized for her significant contribution to Hospice and Community Care, The United Way of Lancaster County, and Lancaster General Hospital Health Foundation by inducting her into Societas Generalis. Peggy was a collector of people and a gardener of friendships. The warmth of her welcoming smiles, the intensity of her interest in others (rarely speaking of herself except to regale with tales of her girlhood, her teaching adventures, and her pride in Lime Spring Farm) drew all to her. Her focus was always on others – their interests, travels, opinions, and families. In the words of her dear friend Dr. Randy Oyer, “Peggy leaves an extraordinary legacy of sincere friendship, natural kindness, and meaningful community service.” Peggy is survived by her cousin, Judy S. Sandt, married to Roger W. Sandt of Lancaster. In 2020, Peggy and the Sandts contributed to Homestead Village’s erection of a clubhouse on the retirement community’s Farmstead campus. The Stauffer Spring House is dedicated to the memory of relatives who founded and maintained Lime Spring Farm. Friends are respectfully invited to attend Peggy’s Memorial Service at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 31 S. Duke Street, Lancaster on Saturday, June 22, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. with Pastor Cliff Hanus officiating. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. until the time of service. A private interment will be at the convenience of the family. The service will be live-streamed starting at 2:00 p.m. by clicking the following link -- https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/a2406375242556 In lieu of flowers, gifts made in memory of Peggy for the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute can be sent to the LG Health Foundation, 2110 Harrisburg Pike, Suite 205, Lancaster, PA 17601, online at lghealth.org/givetoabbci, or by calling 717-544-5956 or Homestead Village Benevolent Fund, 1800 Village Circle, Lancaster, PA 17603.