Peggy Lou (Patterson) Doyen

Peggy Lou (Patterson) Doyen, 93, of Concordia, Kansas, passed away peacefully on December 23, 2022 with her family by her side.

Peggy was born to the late Maj. Clayton James and Lola (Burger) Patterson in 1929 in Emporia, Kansas.  She attended Kansas State University, where she met her late husband, Ray Doyen.  They married in 1949 and raised their family on a farm near Concordia, Kansas.

Peggy is survived by her daughters, Marsha Doyenne of Concordia, Diane (Craig) Johnson of Cortland, Nebraska, and Amie Doyen of Concordia; grandson Jared (Jessica) Johnson and three great-grandsons Eli, Zack, and Jase Johnson all of Lincoln, Nebraska.  She is also survived by her loving cat, Tippy, who diligently watched over her.

Peggy had many accomplishments in life. Whatever Peggy decided to learn, she quietly and patiently taught herself how to perfect those skills. Her many hobbies and natural talents included: quilting, reading, tole painting, oil painting, watercolors, ceramics, china painting, stained glass, bobbin lace, cross stitch, sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, smocking, leather tooling, wood burning, macramé, quilling, furniture refinishing, gardening, music, baking amazing bread, genealogy, puzzles, games, and the KC Royals.  She designed the country home she and Ray built and would later enjoy restoring several older homes in Concordia. She was an accomplished seamstress who made most of her family’s clothing and often made matching outfits for her daughter’s dolls.

Mom had the greenest of thumbs. Summers were spent tending the family’s large vegetable garden then canning and preserving vegetables and fruit from their small orchard. She planted borders of native perennials, grafted fruit trees and cross-pollinated iris to create unique specimens. Many iris in Concordia originated from her iris farm. She could not resist garden centers and loved adding unusual herb and flower specimens to her ever-growing collection. We swear she could save a wilted plant just by glancing at it.

Her love of starting things from seed influenced her unique start-to-finish approach to art. When Peggy endeavored to make reproduction antique porcelain dolls, she purchased molds, poured the parts, fired them in her kiln, painted the delicate faces, and constructed their exquisite costumes and elegant hats. When Peggy wanted to weave a blanket, she learned to card wool, spin it into yarn on her spinning wheel, dye the yarn using plants from her garden, warp the loom, and weave the cloth.

Sometimes hobbies turned into businesses, and Peggy was a skilled entrepreneur, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. In the 1960s, Peggy co-founded a ceramic studio, Peg-Mar Ceramics, in her rural home, later learning and teaching china painting and doll-making.  In the 1970s, she sold Avon and Tupperware. In the 1980s, her love of fabrics prompted her to open the Country Cousins fabric, quilt and gift store in Concordia. She later acquired the B&J Soda Fountain, expanding her stores to three adjacent store-fronts.

Peggy was also a musically gifted woman. She had a lovely voice, played organ and piano, teaching the latter to her children and others in the community. She adored opera, Broadway musicals, big band, and classical, especially Strauss waltzes.

She was an early adopter of technology, especially smitten with computers.  In her 50s, Peggy purchased an Apple II computer, took computer programming classes at Cloud County Community College, and embraced the earliest genealogy software programs. She studied solar energy, organic gardening, and was a devotee of the Whole Earth Catalog. She loved being self-sufficient and proudly completed the ‘Lady, Know Your Car’ class at the college so she could learn how to do her own car repairs and maintenance.

And, oh how she loved finding relatives. Her passion for genealogy began in the 1960s.  She networked with other family branches and traveled to Salt Lake City in pre-Internet days to view records on microfiche and microfilm. In the 1980s, she located Ray’s Belgian cousins by obtaining a Leige phonebook and writing to all the Doyens in the directory. This resulted in a cultural exchange with trips to and from Belgium. Peggy was proud of her own Scottish heritage and delighted in recent connections to newly discovered kin.

Our mother had a never-ending curiosity about the world and traveled to Canada, Mexico, Europe and most of the United States.  She was fascinated by the unexplained such as Bigfoot, UFOs, the paranormal, ESP, Bermuda triangle, ghosts, aliens, and the Loch Ness Monster.  In her rare spare time, she enjoyed British humor, Masterpiece Theatre, and PBS as well as reading her vast array of magazines and books. 

Peggy was a member of the Concordia Garden Club, Concordia Music Club, Athenaeum Club, Cloud County Genealogical Society, The Mayflower Society, and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Both she and Ray were decades-long supporters of the Concordia Community Concert Series.

We were always in awe of Peggy’s quick-wit and impeccable comedic timing.  She often slipped a clever comment into a conversation, triggering fits of laughter from her unexpecting audience.  She was the funniest person we’ve ever known. Oh, the memories, Mom. We will certainly miss you for the rest of our lives and congratulate you on your life full of love, laughter, fun, and adventure.

Peggy was predeceased by her husband in 2016, their infant son, Hal Doyen, her parents, and beloved cat Molly.

The family thanks the dedicated professionals at Meadowlark Hospice and the in-home caregivers who took such wonderful care of our Mother. We are forever grateful for the compassion, friendship and quality care everyone provided.

The family has held a private burial. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Parkinson Voice Project (ParkinsonVoiceProject.org), 646 North Coit Road, Suite 2250, Richardson, TX 75080 or Meadowlark Hospice in care of Nutter Mortuary.

For online condolences, please visit www.nuttermortuary.com.

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