Margaret E. “Peggy” Early

Ms. Margaret E. "Peggy" Early, of Waltham, died Sunday, November 8, 2026 in Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Newton. She was 62.

Peggy was born in Waltham on March 16, 1964, a daughter of the late Charles W. and Mary T. (O'Hara) Early. She was raised in Waltham and graduated from Waltham High School with the Class of 1983. For 32 years she worked as a cashier and clerk at Star Market, until declining health led her to take an early retirement.

Growing up, Peggy was at the Wal-Lex every Saturday morning, and candlepin bowling there remained one of her great loves for many years. When she could no longer bowl, she found new favorites in the activities at the homes where she lived for the past ten years, especially craft projects like making pillows, along with bingo and crossword and word search puzzles. Backgammon was a favorite, always played for quarters, and Peggy almost always won, keeping a drawer full of quarters to prove it. She was a loyal fan of the Red Sox, Bruins and Patriots. An animal lover all her life, she had many dogs and cats over the years and adopted several rescue cats, two of them from Buddy Dog.

Peggy loved babies, and nothing made her happier than when her nieces and nephews, and later her great-nieces and great-nephews, came along. She was also a proud godmother to her nephew.

She leaves her sisters, Anne Marie Jepson of Arizona and Theresa "Terri" Bourgeois and her husband, William, of Billerica; her nieces and nephews, Shaun and Katie Clark and Danielle, Bob and Charlie Bourgeois; her great-nieces and great-nephews, Vanessa, Jenna, Olivia and Jack. She also leaves many cousins and friends.

Family and friends will honor and remember Peggy's life by gathering for a wake in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Monday, November 16th from 3 to 6 p.m. and again on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. before leaving in procession to Saint Mary's Church, 133 School Street, Waltham, where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial will follow in Saint Joseph Cemetery, West Roxbury.

Memorial donations may be made to Buddy Dog Humane Society, 151 Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA 01776 or online at buddydoghs.org/donate.