Peggy Jo Caldwell Jones

Peggy Jo Caldwell Jones, 79, of Raleigh, passed away on September 1, 2026, at home, surrounded by her family.

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She was born in Raleigh, to Harry and Dorothy Caldwell and won a baby beauty pageant before she could walk. She grew up in Boylan Heights and was a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church downtown.

She graduated from Broughton High School and later from Raleigh School of Data Processing, Inc which prepared her for nearly thirty years as a data and computer programmer for the North Carolina Department of Corrections, work she did well. After retiring, she stayed active in hospitality for Carolina Hurricanes and Mudcats games, a devoted fan of both teams.

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Throughout her life, Peggy was a talented craftsperson and artist, making things with her hands. She carried forward the traditions of her father Harry, a skilled electrician, woodworker, and candy maker, creating her own jewelry and beadwork and traveling to craft shows throughout the country. For more than a decade, she also made folk art and crafts for Christmas shows alongside Harry, Dot, and her sister Linda Sue. Like her mother Dorothy, she was an adept seamstress, known for sewing Halloween costumes and school and church plays wardrobes for the children, students, and misguided theatrical types in her life.

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She was an avid concert-goer who loved music, especially Motown and beach music, and later in life, Prince. In her youth, she worked at the Embers Club in Raleigh, where singer Jackie Wilson once serenaded her with "Happy Birthday" — not a story told often, but one worth telling. She loved a good mystery too, from Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes as a girl to any and every mystery program, but most especially Poirot. She loved spending time at the Outer Banks.

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She kept animals all her life, dogs, cats, fish and birds, and the squirrels on the back porch she fed without being asked. There was Agatha and Ebb, Hobbes and Zoey, a few Pennies, Girlie the mean blind stray, and Oliver the parrot.

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She is survived by her children, Nicolle C. Jones, Bart Jones, and Brett Jones, and her grandchildren, Ella, Emma, and Elana Jones, and Ayden, Kylie, and Landen Jones.

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There will be no service or visitation, per her request. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to the Dix Park Conservancy, the SPCA of Wake County, or Transitions LifeCare.