Franklin - The world has lost another beauty.  Even in her last few days in the hospital, a nurse commented that she had never seen a 98-year-old woman so beautiful.  Marguerite Hamner Adams Gillette, known to all as Peggy, died January 13, 2022 at Southampton Memorial Hospital in Franklin, Virginia.

Peggy was born July 27, 1923, in Lynchburg, Virginia, the only child of Walker Hamner Adams and Marguerite Wood Adams.  She was predeceased by her parents; her maternal grandparents Richard Hill Adams and Rosalie Hamner Adams; her husband, James T. Gillette, Jr.; and a grandson, Matthew Tucker Gillette.

As a child, Peggy lived in Lynchburg, where she shared an active life with her many aunts, uncles, and cousins from her father's ten siblings.  Later she lived in Washington, DC, and Chevy Chase, Maryland, where she attended Woodrow Wilson High School.  After graduating from high school in 1941, Peggy and her mother moved to Utica, New York, to join her father who had been sent the previous year by the FDIC.  Peggy attended Utica Business School and later was employed by the FDIC as a secretary.

Peggy's family spent summers at Virginia Beach, where in August 1939 at age16, she met her future husband "Jimmy" Gillette, who was 21 and known by her father as a football player at the University of Virginia.  Jim and Peggy were married February 10, 1944, during Jim's 10-day leave prior to reporting to Miami as an ensign in the US Navy.

Their marriage began Peggy's following of Jim in his NFL football career through 1948.  In the off season, they lived in Norfolk, where Jim coached baseball and taught at Granby High School.  They had two sons, Tommy in 1944 and Walker in 1947.   In May 1947 Peggy and Jim returned to live in Courtland and later moved to Bedford County, Virginia, and built a house on her parents' farm.  Jim and Peggy returned to Southampton County in 1957 to a farm near Capron. In 1975 they built a home in Courtland.  Jim died unexpectedly in January 1990, and Peggy continued to live in Courtland until 2014 when she moved to independent living at The Village at Woods Edge in Franklin.

Peggy lived a long, full, and interesting life.  She never missed a chance to see her sons and grandsons play sports in high school and college.   On a more feminine side, Peggy loved playing bridge with several bridge clubs in Courtland and with friends at The Village until her eyesight and health in the past two years prevented it.  From 1990 until 2014 she and her friends looked forward to her annual birthday themed bridge-luncheons lovingly prepared and hosted by her daughters-in-law.  She loved beautiful things and cherished the family antiques inherited from the generations before her.  She was very organized and fastidious in her home and the epitome of a "Southern lady" in her appearance.  Peggy was a former member of the Country Acres Garden Club and Cypress Cove Country Club.  She was a former member of Courtland Methodist Church, but moved her membership to High Street Methodist Church when she moved to Franklin.

Left to cherish her memory are two sons, James T. Gillette III (Michele) of Jacksonville, Florida, and Walker Adams Gillette (Becky) of Franklin; two grandsons, Jeffrey Adams Gillette (Victoria) of Jacksonville Beach, Florida; and Adam Vaughan Gillette (Mary Margaret) of Quinton, Virginia; four great-grandchildren, James Edward Gillette and Georgia Ann Gillette of Jacksonville Beach, Florida; and Landon Matthew Gillette and Mary Grace Gillette of Quinton, Virginia.

The family would like to express their sincere appreciation for the care extended to Peggy by the staff at The Village and The Manor at Woods Edge, Southampton Memorial Hospital, and her former sitters, Youlanda Haskins, Sharon Murphy, and Laverne Barnes.

A memorial service will be held at High Street United Methodist Church, 31164 Camp Parkway, Courtland, VA, on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 11 AM followed by a reception in the church social hall.  Burial will be private.

Memorial contributions may be made to High Street United Methodist Church or Courtland United Methodist Church.

Wright Funeral Home is serving the family.  www.wrightfuneralhome.org