Peggy Tyer Cantwell

Funeral Services for Peg will be held March 29th at 1:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood located at 1760 N. Gower Street, followed by a reception on site.

Our Peg was a gifted and passionate Bible teacher. She earned two degrees at Fuller Theological Seminary: Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry. An ordained pastor, she served five Presbyterian churches from 1977 until retirement in 2005. Charlene Greene said, "Peg was a mighty Bible teacher - a woman of conviction who challenged us to assess our walk with the Lord. She never left us where we were, but took us one step further."

Early years:
Peg was born to Richard and Pauline Tyer in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, September 22, 1924. When her parents divorced in 1927, she and her mother moved to California where they worked in Vaudeville. Peg used to say she was a poor man's Shirley Temple. "I don't remember much about the years from ages three to twelve", Peg said. "We moved often to different boarding houses. I saw very little of my mother and had no formal education. Everything changed when Grandmother Etta left her home in Missouri and came to live with us. She worked very hard monogramming shirts in a factory to provide a higher standard of living for us. I was enrolled at Fairfax High School. Coming from an adult world, I didn't know how to relate to my peers. They ridiculed me. I became tough and confrontational."

College:
At seventeen, Peg made a startling discovery. Hidden in a drawer was a stack of letters from her father addressed to her. "I was enraged," she said. "Mother had told me he wanted nothing to do with us. His envelopes identified him as a chiropractor with his own clinic in Jackson, Mississippi. Immediately I telephoned. Twenty minutes into the conversation he invited me to live with him and his wife and attend Millsap College, close to his home. I accepted and transferred from UCLA. My grandmother was heartbroken."

Peg graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at Millsap and returned to UCLA for graduate work in Business Administration.

Business career:
At twelve, The Fox Wilshire Theatre employed her as an usher, taking her at her word that she was fourteen. A variety of jobs followed in high school and college. At twenty-two she was hired by Business Administration Company, a firm in Beverly Hills which handled predominantly motion picture people – actors, directors, producers. "I worked in Public Relations representing the client to the public," Peg explained. "It was a rich experience learning every aspect of our clients' lives and, surprisingly, was great preparation for being a pastor. At that time, I had never been inside a church."

Marriage:
One of ten children, Tim and Peg met soon after he moved here from Ohio. "He came to my department with a product he was selling," Peg recalled. "He was a good looking, charming Irishman with wonderful people skills. At his invitation we went to dinner and discovered many common interests. We married the next year in 1949. Eventually Tim became an insurance salesman and soon after had his own business. I continued with my job until 1953 when we were blessed by the birth of our son, Tim."

Presently son Tim lives in Altadena with his wife, Stephani Hardy. Their children, Dawn (28) is an actor and Ryan (25) is a musician living in New York, and Zack Erickson (23) is a video game artist living in San Diego. Peg never missed a concert!

Testimony:
When newly married, Tim's business colleague, HM Wammack, invited him to attend FPCH. "Sunday was our favorite day to sleep late and go to the beach," Peg said. "When I realized how important it was to Tim I agreed to go. Louis Evans was the Senior Pastor, Charles Hirt the Music Director, choir members numbered one hundred, and the sanctuary was full. The people were quite different from the worldly culture I was in. We liked it, attended every Sunday and became involved in the life of the church. Joining the couples class led by Dick Halverson was a turning point for me. It took two years for the Lord and the power of His Word to pierce my heart. It was at Forest Home where I met Jesus and dropped to my knees in prayer for the first time. How gently He had dealt with me through my long process coming to Him."

Spiritual journey:
Peg began teaching the Bible in 1960. Always eager to learn, she enrolled at Fuller Theological Seminary, taking classes as time allowed. By l968 she was teaching six weekly classes. That same year Bel Air Presbyterian Church asked her to be the Adult Education Director. "I had no clue about Christian Ed," Peg confessed, "and quickly consulted Henrietta Mears' book to learn my job."

After completing studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, Peg was approved by First Presbyterian Church Hollywood to become an Inquirer, the first step in the ordination process. "When ordained," Peg said, "I was privileged to serve as the Assistant Pastor at La Jolla Pres: 1977-1983, Menlo Park Pres: 1983–1987, The National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.: 1987– 1998 and Westlake Hill Pres in Austin, Texas: 1998–2005."

Peg will be remembered for her fervent teaching of the risen Christ and His resurrection power. She loved people and reached out to men and women of all ages. Although challenged by cancer since 2005, she never allowed it to dominate her life. The joy of the Lord was her strength. She had wonderful time with family and friends gathered around in her last days. Peg died on March 1, 2014 at home in Marina del Rey with a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean that she loved.