Peg (Lavinia M.) Carper passed away at age 89 on July 15, 2012, at her home in Pomeroy, Ohio, after a brief illness.

Peg was born on November 28, 1922, in Melbourne, Australia, to the late Robert and Jessie Humphreys. She met her late husband, George Carper, while she was working as a civilian secretary at the U.S. naval depot in Brisbane, Australia. They were married with the consent of an admiral in Australia and honeymooned in Surfer’s Paradise.

She worked at Ohio University as a secretary after immigrating to the United States in 1945. In 1951 she and her husband founded Carper’s Nursery of Pomeroy, Ohio, after the birth of her first two children. She retired in 2001 following the death of her husband.

After retirement Peg was free to travel and often visited her son and family in Texas and Florida. She also enjoyed her vacations in California and Hawaii with her daughter, Dawn, and husband, Jay, where she tried poi, picked exotic fruits and flowers, enjoyed luaus, listened to Hawaiian drums and walked on mossy rocks to the ocean. Her greatest joy even more than reading was seeing granddaughter, Marjorie, and her children on the weekends and dining at her favorite restaurants with her daughter, Wendy, and son-in-law, Michael.

She is survived by son, George (Theresa) Carper; granddaughter, Summer Carper of Spring, Texas; daughter, Dr. Wendy (Michael) Halar of Pomeroy, Ohio; granddaughter, Marjorie Mora, and her children, Sydney and Brody of Racine, Ohio; grandson, Jon Halar of Cincinnati, Ohio; daughter, Dawn Miller (Jay) of Lakeland, Tenn.; and nephew, Reed Carper of Centerburg, Ohio. She is also survived by brothers, Roy Humphreys of Melbourne, Australia, Bob Humphreys of Port Melbourne, Australia, David Humphreys of Berlin, Germany, and numerous nieces and nephews in Australia.

Her memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 4 at Anderson McDaniel Funeral Home in Pomeroy. Rev. Karen Miller of Hagerstown, Maryland, will officiate. A celebration of her life will follow at the Hemlock Grove Christian Church.

An online registry is available at: www.andersonmcdaniel.com.