Tallahassee writer Peggy Kassees died over the weekend

Members of the Tallahassee Writers Association lost a bright beacon when Peggy Kassees passed away late Saturday night. She was a long-time member and a past president of TWA. There are many author friends who wanted to contribute to this memorial to her life.

My own memory was many years ago when Peggy invited me over for a writing session. After getting all set up with laptop tables and cords, Peggy offered me some eggnog cheesecake she’d made. After that, we had a glass of bourbon and then well… no writing happened. Just a lot of laughter.

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A few years later, Peggy, fellow author Pat Spears, and I went out on my boat and rode up the St. Marks River and out into the bay. Fishing poles were along for the ride, but everyone, especially Peggy was just enjoying the day too much to fish.

She had a following on Facebook of people who would read her daily posts about sunrises, possums, birds, raccoons, and feral cats she fed. So many people enjoyed reading her posts about her dog Jezebel, who was affectionally known as “The Hussy.”

Marci Elliott reminds us that she ended the posts advising her readers to do something nice for the critters.

Hannah Mahler had called almost daily for the last 7 years, and they spoke of birds, roses, food, sewing and knitting. “A lot of knitting. She taught me to knit. She was my forensic knitter because she could fix any mess I made with yarn and needles. At times, so much of a disaster, she would tell me to hush so she could concentrate.”

Lipika Nath Frith says, “What I hold dearest in my heart about Peggy is her voracious love of people, especially her son, Pete. She told captivating stories, encouraged me, and embraced all animals. I’m sending some of the love she gave right back to her and hope she’s having a ball across the realm.”

Former Tallahassee author, Darryl Bollinger adds, “She was always positive with an encouraging word, she was a caring and creative spirit dedicated to the craft of writing.”

Liz Jameson remembers when they were together in Carcassonne, France, they made day trips to wineries, and soon discovered that they’d bought way too much wine to bring back, so Peggy decided there was only one thing to do…. enjoy Several evenings consuming a fair quantity of some fabulous wines. And laughed and laughed at the comment an elderly Frenchman made when he saw Peggy coming down a hill into his village wearing her big red coat and using two walking sticks: “Père noël! Père noël est arrivé!”

Saundra Kelley will miss the limitless wit and wisdom she shared with grace flavored by a wicked sense of humor.

Faith Eidse says Peggy was the reason her debut novel was covered in the Tallahassee Democrat. Because she couldn’t get right to it, she asked another to review it — and an excellent review it was!

If anyone ever left her a voicemail, they heard her say Au Revoir. So, Au Revoir our dear friend.

Rest in Mischief, Peggy!

Pat Stanford is an award-winning author and poet, a Past President of the Tallahassee Writers Association, and Immediate Past President of the Florida Authors and Publishers Association. Her most recent publication, “A Motley Miscellany; Misfit Poems That Fit Together” (DocUmeant Publishing, 2020), is a five-section poetry book.

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