Margaret Peggy Jensen Fuller

Peggy Fuller recently passed away in her sleep, peacefully, at her residence in Seattle. Born in Nigeria, the daughter of missionaries, at age 5 she and 2 sisters, upon their mothers’ death, were placed in a missionary children’s home in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. She had a “wonderful dream childhood,” was 16 when the war ended, and had 5 friends who had a brother who didn’t return from the war.

At age 19 she began teaching, her first class being, for one year, a one room school, grades 1-12: “The hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she joked, “I thought about becoming a welder.” The next three years she spent at University of Toronto, teaching elementary, which became her career. In the early fifties she moved to San Diego—where she became a citizen—and then to the bay area, where she married Lloyd Fuller and had three children. They soon relocated to the Santa Ynez Valley, where she taught at Jonata and Solvang Elementary for some 20 years. She also owned Elna’s Dress Shop in Solvang for 12 years, their best seller being a made-in-Solvang traditional Danish dress for infant girls. On weekends Peggy would do both grommets and topstitching; thousands of these dresses were sold to tourists from all over.

She also sold real estate, and on retiring moved to Santa Barbara, where she ran an Elderhostel program. She also volunteered at both SB Visitors Center and the Courthouse, and was a member of PEO and El Montecito Presbyterian Church. A life long GOP voter, (she had a huge crush on Ike), she left this party in 2016, citing a need for “basic decency and common sense.” Peggy loved people, and had many friends. She was an avid traveller, visiting many countries, and also both an avid reader and bridge player. She is survived by her children and a grandson. Her ashes have been donated to the flowers on Figueroa Mountain. No service is planned. However, it was Peggy’s wish that after the virus crisis, “many well attended and well behaved bridge parties take place in both the Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valleys, Amen.”