Peggy Jean Burns

Peggy Jean Burns, 78, of Inverness, Florida, passed away unexpectedly on May 2, 2025. Born Nov. 2, 1946, in Miami, Florida, she lived a life marked by devotion to her family and friends. She was an amazing mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and devoted wife and will forever be in our memories.

Peggy was the beloved daughter of Albert Hoff Sr. And Marguerite (Hovey) Hadley and beloved stepdaughter of Herman Hadley, all of whom are deceased.

On November 22, 1963, she married the love of her life, James Elliott Burns. They immediately started their family with the birth of Tammy in 1964, Margie in 1967, and Mark in 1972.

The family left Miami in 1973 and moved to Maiden, North Carolina, following the career of James at Gerritts Construction Company. Still following his career, the family moved in 1975 to Russellville, Arkansas and made their final home in Inverness, Florida, in 1978.

Once all of her children were attending school, Peggy herself returned to earn her high school diploma. She attended Withlacoochee Technical Institute (now Withlacoochee Technical College) to finish the classes she missed and to take a CNA course. She graduated in 1983.

Peggy began her career at SMG Inc. After working there for a few years, she decided to pursue a career in the medical field. For the next eight years, Peggy found herself an invaluable member of the team at Central Florida Clinic for Rehab in Crystal River. In 2001 she took a job in the medical records field at the Citrus County Health Department. She worked there until she retired in 2015.

Peggy found joy tending to her plants in the garden, boating, going to the beach, camping and going to the hunting camp with family and friends. She enjoyed collecting flamingos, Betty Boop and Elvis memorabilia. Their garage had become the daily gathering place for family and friends. Every season and holiday, Peggy would decorate a wall in there for everyone to enjoy.

Left to cherish her memory is her husband of 62 years, James Elliott Burns; her children, Tammy (Charlie), Margie (John), and Mark (Nikki); her sisters, Sherry (Angela), and Dawn (Bill); her brother, Albert Hoff Jr.; her grandchildren, Rachel, Brandon, Jordan and Austin; and her great-grandchildren,  Caden, Aria, Noah, Kylan and Jace; her sisters-in-law, Gail (Eddie), Carol (David), and Andrea (Corky-deceased) and many cousins, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Charles and Essie Hovey; her parents, Albert Hoff Sr. and Marguerite (Hovey) Hadley; her stepfather, Herman Hadley; her in-laws, Elliott and Nellie Burns; her sister Lutea; her brother Corky; her sister-in-law Virginia and her husband Bill; and her niece Sara.

Peggy cut this anonymous poem out of the Citrus County Chronicle and taped it to her refrigerator. Her kids found it and decided that it is precisely what Peggy would want. “I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one. I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done. Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days. I’d like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun, with happy memories that I leave when life is done.”

As per her wishes, Peggy did not want any funeral services. She wanted everyone to remember her the way she was, a beautiful, happy and loving woman. Private cremation arrangements under the care of Chas. E Davis Funeral Home with Crematory, Inverness.