Blessed Beyond Measure: Meet Parishioner Peggy Steel

Blessed Beyond Measure: Meet Parishioner Peggy Steel

Faith and family — for St. Isidore parishioner Peggy Steel, these are the two pillars that have gotten her through the ups and downs of life.

Born into a typical Catholic family, Peggy was blessed to have an aunt who was a Notre Dame nun. Anxious to ensure that her niece was properly prepared for her sacraments, she convinced Peggy’s mother to send her to Notre Dame Belmont for a month or two as Peggy prepared for her First Communion and Confirmation.

“I was so impressed by that experience that I begged my parents to permanently send me to Catholic school,” Peggy says. “So, I began attending Catholic school my eighth grade year in Marysville.”

This educational experience had a profound influence on Peggy’s life, laying a firm foundation on which she would rely for years to come, particularly as a wife and mother. Peggy met her husband, Robert, as a young college student on New Year’s Eve 1946.

“It’s really a good story,” Peggy says. “I had no date for New Year’s Eve and his mother phoned me that day and said he was home from college. He had been in the service and was in need of a date, so his mother asked if I would go with him. As I used to tell my girls, no self-respecting woman would have said ‘yes’ — but I did and the following November, we were man and wife.”

Robert and Peggy would go on to have 10 children together, a new and exciting experience for Peggy who was an only child. They moved to Yuba City and became founding parishioners at St. Isidore Catholic Church.

“I think it was 1955 when the parish first started in Yuba City,” Peggy says. “That was much closer to where we lived, so we started going there. We knew the founding pastor quite well and later moved our children from public to St. Isidore School.”

Like most young mothers, Peggy would go on to become very involved in the school. She was an active part of what was then called the Mothers Club and worked hard to help raise funds for and support the school. As the mother of 10, time was always limited —yet, Peggy did her best to pitch in and help whenever possible.

“Of course, I didn’t have a whole lot of time to do many things, but I helped where I could,” Peggy says. “I was president of the Mothers Club at one point, like so many others, and we always attended Mass faithfully as a family and did our best to make faith part of our life. My husband was a great support in that — just one of those people you can always count on and lean on.”

Now a widow and empty-nester, Peggy continues to be involved and live out her faith. She attends daily Mass whenever possible, describing the Eucharist as her great comfort in life, and is an active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

“I just heard that they needed somebody and decided that was something I could help with,” Peggy says. “I love meeting the people — seeing how some of them are living with these really tough needs — and being able to help them.”

Peggy says she is deeply grateful for the gifts of her family and her faith. They are what keep her going, especially since Robert’s passing over 20 years ago.

“I love my parish and I think it’s especially good,” Peggy says. “Our pastors and assistants have all been very pleasant, holy men. We are just so blessed here at St. Isidore.”