Margaret Ann "Peggy" Hankins' Obituary
Margaret Ann “Peggy” Hankins died peacefully in her sleep of natural causes in the early morning hours of November 6, 2011. Having been born on January 25, 1934, she was 77 years old. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Peggy moved with her family to Texas in May of 1948. After graduating from San Jacinto High School in Houston, Texas in 1952, Peggy then began a 30-year career for Southwestern Bell/AT&T. During her time there, she worked as a long distance operator, an information operator and a dispatcher coordinating new phone lines with her co-workers. A generous, benevolent and loving woman, Peggy is preceded in death by her parents, Don and Betty Fritz, and her older sister, Donna Knotts. She is also preceded in death by her husband of 18 years and the “love of her life”, Virgil Ray Hankins of Wichita Falls. During their time together, Virgil and Peggy enjoyed traveling together, playing cards, cooking and building a home together that was filled with kindheartedness and love for their families. A superb bridge player, Peggy also enjoyed gardening and had a “green thumb” second to none. She collected shot glasses and accumulated them from around the world. She immensely enjoyed the company of her three children, four grandchildren and the many friends she made during her time on Earth. Peggy is survived by her first-born son, Jim Cox (wife Cyndi) and their two children: Stephen (wife Maxie) and Elizabeth, all of Jacksonville, Florida. She is also survived by her daughter, Debbie Cox, of Mesquite, Texas and her two sons: Clayton Purcell of San Antonio and Justin Combs of Boerne, Texas. Lastly, she is survived by her third-born, Thomas Donald “T.D.” Cox, who resides in Nagoya, Japan. Peggy is also survived by her twin brother, Richard Fritz of Galveston (wife Pam) and Don Fritz of Austin (wife Gayle). She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews including Deanna Knotts, George Fritz, Vicky Price, Becky Pennington, Reed Fritz, Jennifer Koonz and Christopher Fritz. Peggy also is survived by many great friends including Mary Wright, Aggie Stryker, Margaret Thompson, Reba Spence, Billie Dalton and Pat Dailey. Services are scheduled for this Friday, November 11, at 10 a.m.at Restland Funeral Home on Greenville Avenue. We invite everyone to come celebrate the life of this caring, thoughtful, and unselfish lady, who enriched the lives of all she knew by the way she lived her life. May she eternally rest in peace!
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