Great-grandmother, traveler, volunteer

Peggy L. Cheadle died at her home on May 14 surrounded by her family. She was born October 9, 1925, in Thomas, Washington. She was one of 13 children and the only remaining sibling left, although her birth order was number 11.

She came to California in the late 1940s and never left. She was married for almost 50 years to her beloved husband Robert S. Cheadle who predeceased her in 1997. Peggy traveled the world as a benefit of her husband’s long employment with the airlines, and when she became a widow in 1997, she continued her travels.

She had a rich and varied life and was active in the Rancho Cucamonga community. In the 1960s she spearheaded a peaceful protest of Girl Scouts with handheld white crosses at the bottom of Red Hill Country Club Drive to persuade local officials to put in a stop sign there, which they  eventually did. The protest made the news in the Daily Report newspaper.

In 1969, she was the entertainment chairperson of the “sunshine ball” which was a benefit for victims of the 1969 flood that devastated then Cucamonga. Her coup de grâce was persuading legendary comedic television personality Jack Benny to emcee the ball gratis, as payback for all the mileage he had gotten out of using the name “Cucamonga” in his schtick for many years.

She was a booking agent for dance bands for all types of music for 25 years as part of her musician husband’s post-retirement gigs. The late Chet Jaeger’s Night Blooming Jazzmen was one of the bands that she frequently booked.

In 1998-1999, in her early 70s, she was selected as the foreperson of a San Bernardino special grand jury that issued corruption indictments against San Bernardino County officials; this was a yearlong process and she enjoyed serving in this capacity.

She served as a volunteer at San Antonio Community Hospital for more than 15 years, well into her mid 80s. In recruiting new hospital volunteers she would tell them her truism: “You will find in volunteering that you get more than you give.”

Also in her mid 80s she enthusiastically campaigned for her daughter Robin Haulman’s 2011 unsuccessful bid for Claremont City Council. “She enjoyed people and approached this task with the enthusiasm that she had for every new endeavor,” her family shared.

“She was always stylish in her choice of clothing and wore everything with panache,” her family added. “Peggy’s ebullient personality, inimitable sense of humor and unfailingly positive attitude that she carried with her to the end of her life, will be sorely missed by her family.”

She was a devoted grandmother and great grandmother, and is survived by her daughters Robin Haulman of Claremont (husband Alex Sweida), and Callie Chardonnay (husband Max Kalmanowicz) of Rancho Cucamonga; granddaughters Kara Therese Haulman  (John D. Recla) of Rancho Cucamonga, and Skye Haulman (Kelly Love) of Redlands, California; grandson Chace Levi (Lacey Levi) of Austin; and great-grandchildren Alanna Quinn,  Ava Rose Quinn and Lex Levi.

The family of Peggy Cheadle will be holding a private burial at sea.