Margaret “Peggy” Jane Brooker

Margaret “Peggy” Jane Brooker, 82, was called home to the Lord on Sept. 23, 2009, at Cape Coral Hospital. Born Nov. 11, 1926 in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of Albert Stapleton and Margaret Duffey.

Peggy married Thomas (Tommy) Brooker shortly after he returned from World War II where he served with the United States Navy. Peggy went with Tommy on Tours of Duty which took them to Green Cove Springs, Fla., Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Long Beach, Calif.; Bermerton, Wash.; Bainbridge, Md.; Japan; Kingsville, Texas; Bermuda; Memphis, Tenn. and Jacksonville, Fla., where he retired from the Navy in 1970. After retirement, Tommy and Peggy took to the road touring the United States and visiting family in their motorhome. Tommy and Peggy moved to Bokeelia in 2002. Peggy made many new friends on Pine Island through the Ladies Guild of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Catholic Church and through the Happy Islanders Bridge Club, where she played weekly and the Marathon Bridge Club. She was happiest when she was playing bridge, enjoying the company of her friends, surrounded by her family and watching her grandkids grow up.

Peggy is preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Thomas Brooker; her two brothers, Johnny and Albert Stapleton, and her sister, Ruth. Peggy leaves to cherish her memory, her three children Stephen (Denise) of Rockledge, Fla.; Kenneth (Robin) of Thomasville, Ga., and Deborah (Joe) Marzella of Bokeelia; four grandchildren Tyler, Michael, Hannah and Elijah Marzella; niece Jeannie Krauss and many other nephews and nieces and best friends Bob and Betty Crain of Jacksonville and Dudley and Rose Young of Sebastian Inlet, Fla..

A funeral mass will be celebrated on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 2 p.m., at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church on Pine Island. Burial will be at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.