Peg Mengel, 86

Margaret L. (Peg) Mengel, 86, died Nov. 7, 2005, at a Boise care center.

Memorial services were held Saturday, Nov. 12, at Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel in Boise.

Peg was born Jan. 7, 1924, to Floyd and Helen Shive Bensley of Canton, Ohio, where she spent her entire childhood and graduated from high school.

Peg married Herbert O. Mengel (Lt. Col. Ret.) July 13, 1943. They moved to Boise as newlyweds. The Mengel family was stationed at Gowen Field, Washington, D.C., Munich and Wiesbaden, Germany. In 1957 they moved to Mountain Home AFB where Herbert was deputy base commander until 1965.

They then moved to Meridian Idaho and kept a summer residence in McCall. In 1981 they moved to Gridley Island in Hagerman. After Herb's death, Peg moved to Mountain Home, then to Portland, Ore., until this past summer when she wanted to return to Idaho.

Peg worked for Mountain Bell Telephone Co., Borah High School, and the Idaho State Legislature.

She was an excellent hostess and volunteered with the Red Cross and other charities. She also was an Ada County election registrar.

Her hobbies included reading, knitting, and spending time with friends. "She was always an interesting conversationalist," her family said. "She enjoyed traveling the world and had a tremendous drive to accomplish her goals." Although being confined to a wheelchair for the past 12 years, she still traveled to Hong Kong, Europe, Singapore, Thailand, and Hawaii, and made numerous trips to visit family in California, Florida, the East Coast and the Pacific Northwest.

Peg is survived by: her daughter, Mary Lee Mengel of Boise; her son, Steve Mengel and his wife, Mary, of Vancouver, Wash.; her sister, Charlene Adcock of Burke, Va; two grandsons, two granddaughters, and three great-granddaughters.

 She was preceded in death by her husband, Herb, and her older sister, Jean.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross, Idaho Chapter, 254 S. Cole Rd., Boise 83709, Guide Dogs For The Blind, 32901 S.E. Kelso Rd., Boring, Ore. 97009, or a favorite charity.