 Home | Recent News | Newton | Don and Peggy Demoss 19 Nov 2007 Profile: Don and Peggy DeMoss |  | | Peggy and Don DeMoss |
Don and Peggy DeMoss have lived at the Manor for 15 months and will celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary on December 1. They have two sons, five grandchildren and two great grandsons. David is executive director of Greenbush Educational Center in Greenbush, Kan. He and his wife Sally have a son, Matthew, and a daughter, Katie. Alan is manager of consulting services for Integrated Service Inc., in Wichita. He and his wife Bonnie live in Newton. They have three daughters, Erin, Kelli and Amanda, as well as two grandsons. After attending Wichita Business College, Don began working for an electrical contractor at Boeing in Wichita while living with relatives. Peggy came to Wichita from Topeka with her family and moved in right across the street from Don. She had graduated from Topeka High School and then Strickler’s Business College and began work at the local Santa Fe Railway freight office. Don and Peggy were introduced by Peggy’s sister, who thought they should get to know one another. They married on Dec. 1, 1943. In June, Don was drafted into the army and trained in the field artillery. He was sent to New Guinea and later was assigned to Gen. MacArthur’s headquarters in Australia, in part because of his ability to write shorthand. From there, he was sent back to New Guinea and finally transferred to the Philippines before being discharged in 1946. Peggy still lived in Wichita when Don was discharged, but the family soon moved to Chanute. Peggy’s father had been transferred to Chanute with the Santa Fe Railway and her mother had been diagnosed with cancer. Peggy quit her job to take care of her mother and Don went to work for the Santa Fe as an extra gang timekeeper, working between Chanute and Winfield. Peggy’s mother passed away in December 1946. In 1947, Don was transferred to the general manager’s office at Topeka as a stenographer. Male stenos were needed, to be promoted to secretaries to travel on the business cars with the railway officials. Many railway executives were former secretaries. Don worked in Topeka for 13 years, where both of the couple’s sons were born. Don was promoted to transportation inspector at Newton with territory in Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma. After working out of Newton for 14 months, Don was transferred to Emporia as chief clerk to the superintendent. He retired as assistant to superintendent on July 1, 1984. He was 60 years old at the time, and they decided to move to Arizona and do some traveling. For the first few years they spent only the winters in Arizona. But in 1989, they moved there year round. After their sons were grown, they traveled to Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, Europe and the Holy Land. Don and Peggy enjoyed their time in Arizona until 1996, when they moved back to Topeka. Peggy was diagnosed with cancer and they wanted to be closer to family. Don and Peggy lived in Topeka until August 2005, when they moved to the Manor in Newton.
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