Margaret Mary Halpin

Peg Halpin passed away May 16th, 2026 at the age of 78.

Peg was born May 20, 1947, the fifth of Margaret and Edgar Hayes' seven children. She attended Nativity School, Regina High School, and Edgecliff College, all in Cincinnati, Ohio. She married Mark Halpin in 1967 and gave birth to their son Brendan in 1968.

In her early adulthood, Peg was an entrepreneur, founding The Honey Tree natural foods store in Normal, Illinois and Hearthstone wood stove store in Cincinnati. She spent the rest of her career in service to the community as a 911 operator and dispatcher for both the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, and served her faith community at St. Monica-St. George Parish as a choir member, cantor, and member of the grief committee.

Peg was widowed in 1978 and raised her then nine-year-old son Brendan as a single mother. She was preceded in death by her husband Mark and brother Patrick Hayes, her brother Michael Hayes, and her sister Rosemary Kropfelder. She was also preceded in death by her dogs Ubu, Zoe, Gabby, and Patrick, as well as cats Frick and Frack.

She is survived by her son, Brendan, her daughter-in-law Suzanne DeMarco, her grandchildren Casey Nelson, Rowen Halpin, and Kylie Nelson, as well as her brother Tom Hayes and sister-in-law Katherine Hayes, her sister Kathy Brannen and brother-in-law Terry Brannen, and her sister Julie Handel and brother-in-law Don Handel. She is also survived by her lifelong friends Kathy Heekin, Janet Koehne and Jan Kennedy in the Pathetic Book Club as well as nephews and nieces too numerous to list.

Peg Halpin was a fearless truth-teller and a lover of theater, music, animals, movies, and books. Above all, she never gave up hope that a kinder, more empathetic and more compassionate world was possible.

A funeral mass will take place at the convenience of the family.