Updated Mar. 8
When Patrick Manteiga sat down to write his motherâs obituary, he didnât skip the tough stuff. Louise âPeggieâ Schmechel had lived what seemed like six lives in one, and they werenât all easy.
âPeggie was born Sept. 11, 1932 in Atlanta, Georgia, to a hardworking but poor Irish family and lived in a small suburb of Ben Hill,â he wrote. âDue to her motherâs death when she was only five years old and the tough times, she wanted to get out of the house at a young age. She started working at Kress department store at the age of 11, lying that she was 16. At 13 she was married and became a mother to David at 14.â