Obituary for Margaret “Peggy” Morris Silliman
Margaret “Peggy” Morris Silliman, 77, passed away peacefully on April 1 st , 2023 with her loving daughter at her side. She was born September 10, 1945 in Wilmington, Delaware to Marian Brockway Morris and Dr. Charles Woodard Morris. Peggy loved their family dog, Poochie, a cocker spaniel, and playing dominos with her brother, Allan, and her parents in the sunroom of their family home on Avon Road in Louisville.
In 1963, Peggy graduated from Seneca High School with lifelong friends Sharon Loritz, Ann Rowe, Pat Slover, and Suzanne Throgmorton, among others. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Louisville in 1967, where she was an avid sorority sister of Chi Omega, and a Masters in Education from Indiana University Bloomington. She retained her first teaching position in Houston, Texas, where two of her three roommates were Seneca High School classmates. Following this position, Peggy returned to Louisville and became a dedicated teacher for the Jefferson County Public School system, teaching at Portland Elementary. She remained in contact with many of her students as a life-long mentor.
In 1974, Peggy married Michael Silliman, an All-American basketball player and Captain of the U.S. Men’s National Basketball team who later became a prominent real estate developer in Louisville. Together, they created a happy home in Crescent Hill and were blessed with a son, Michael Scott Silliman, and a daughter, Marian Elizabeth Silliman.
Peggy’s passions included traveling, oil painting, gardening, and playing bridge with her close friends. After retiring from teaching, Peggy became an active member of Bellarmine’s Veritas Program and the MacDowell Music Club. She is known for her humor, quick wit, infectious laugh, and her caring and gentle nature, inherited from her mother, Marian.
Peggy is preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Charles and Marian Morris, her brother Allan Brockway Morris, and her former husband of 25 years, Michael Barnwell Silliman. Devoted mother of Michael Scott Silliman (Lynn Dotson) and Marian Elizabeth Silliman, and grandmother to Michael and Lynn’s three-year-old son, Henry Barnwell Silliman. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Nancy Gutekunst Morris, and her beautiful nieces, Amy and Emilie, and nephew, Chris. She will very much be missed.
Funeral Services will be held at Christ Church United Methodist located at 4614 Brownsboro Rd. Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, April 7th at 10:00 am. A graveside service will follow at the Morris Family plot in Cave Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Peggy’s honor may be made to The Portland Museum (https://portlandky.org/) and Neighborhood House (https://www.nhky.org) in the Portland Neighborhood.
A memorial service to honor Peggy’s life will be held at a later date.
In 1963, Peggy graduated from Seneca High School with lifelong friends Sharon Loritz, Ann Rowe, Pat Slover, and Suzanne Throgmorton, among others. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Louisville in 1967, where she was an avid sorority sister of Chi Omega, and a Masters in Education from Indiana University Bloomington. She retained her first teaching position in Houston, Texas, where two of her three roommates were Seneca High School classmates. Following this position, Peggy returned to Louisville and became a dedicated teacher for the Jefferson County Public School system, teaching at Portland Elementary. She remained in contact with many of her students as a life-long mentor.
In 1974, Peggy married Michael Silliman, an All-American basketball player and Captain of the U.S. Men’s National Basketball team who later became a prominent real estate developer in Louisville. Together, they created a happy home in Crescent Hill and were blessed with a son, Michael Scott Silliman, and a daughter, Marian Elizabeth Silliman.
Peggy’s passions included traveling, oil painting, gardening, and playing bridge with her close friends. After retiring from teaching, Peggy became an active member of Bellarmine’s Veritas Program and the MacDowell Music Club. She is known for her humor, quick wit, infectious laugh, and her caring and gentle nature, inherited from her mother, Marian.
Peggy is preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Charles and Marian Morris, her brother Allan Brockway Morris, and her former husband of 25 years, Michael Barnwell Silliman. Devoted mother of Michael Scott Silliman (Lynn Dotson) and Marian Elizabeth Silliman, and grandmother to Michael and Lynn’s three-year-old son, Henry Barnwell Silliman. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Nancy Gutekunst Morris, and her beautiful nieces, Amy and Emilie, and nephew, Chris. She will very much be missed.
Funeral Services will be held at Christ Church United Methodist located at 4614 Brownsboro Rd. Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, April 7th at 10:00 am. A graveside service will follow at the Morris Family plot in Cave Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Peggy’s honor may be made to The Portland Museum (https://portlandky.org/) and Neighborhood House (https://www.nhky.org) in the Portland Neighborhood.
A memorial service to honor Peggy’s life will be held at a later date.