01/07/2025
We loved caring for you, Peggy! You are already missed!
Margaret “Peggy” Rouch, 87, of Zanesville. For Peggy Loving Rouch, “Loving” was not just a name, but a lifestyle. Also known as “Mrs. Rouch”, “Grandma”, and “G-Ma”, she spent her 87 years "Loving" many things. First and foremost, her family.
Born Beulah Margaret Loving on October 10, 1937, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, she was an only child brought into the world of a family with its own challenges. But she did not allow those challenges to deter her. After graduating from high school in Ashtabula, Ohio – where she reigned as Homecoming Queen – she continued her education at Bowling Green where she met her late husband, Mahlon Rouch.
Leaving school early to marry, she raised and doted on her two children, Kevin and Sally, and built a full life starting in Woodward, Oklahoma; continuing on to Roswell, New Mexico; and settling ultimately in Zanesville, Ohio.
As they grew, she heard her own professional calling and returned to Ohio University to earn her degree in Education and embrace “Loving” her other passions: learning, teaching, writing, public speaking, acting, and directing.
Starting her career at Zanesville High School, she had the pleasure (sometimes!) of having her own progeny as her students. Over time, she went on to positions at Newark High School and Newark Catholic High School. In the course of her career, she impacted the lives of literally thousands of students through her roles as both an English teacher and a director of Drama, Speech, and Debate.
She deftly navigated the balance between authority figure and friend – for which she was deeply respected by both her peers and her students. During her retirement, a car accident in 2017 impacted her health and curtailed her activities – but did not hinder her spirit.
She will be forever remembered through the countless lives she touched – but especially by her two children Kevin (Carol) Rouch of Columbus, OH and Sally Rouch Stinson of Nashport, OH; her five grandchildren Alex, Katie, Casey, Oliver (Selby), and Danielle Stinson (Ritchie Franklin); her six great grandchildren Kayla, Alexia, Colton, Audri, Zane, and Miles; and her longtime friends Barb Warren and Jeanne Konrad.
She was preceded in death by her father and mother, Emmett and Ginny (Morasco) and her beloved canine companion and protector, Toby.
The family wishes to extend its thanks to the Helen Purcell Home and Hospice of Central Ohio for the care and support they provided.
Visitors will be welcomed at a Celebration of Life on Saturday, January 11, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at The Hillis, Combs & Nestor Funeral Home, 935 Forest Avenue, with a service to follow at 1:00 p.m. with Rev. Bill Meaige officiating. The family encourages charitable donations to education or the arts in her honor. To sign the online guestbook or leave a personal note of condolence, please visit www.hilliscombsnestor.com.
