St. George - Margaret "Peggy" Sanford Ernest lost her courageous battle with Melanoma on April 3, 2023, with her family by her side.

Peggy was born on September 23, 1959, in Wilmington, Delaware. She was the daughter of Tom Sanford and Mitzi Baker Robbins. Peggy had an older sister (luckily also her best friend) Tammie Sonntag and two younger brothers, Tom Sanford and Todd Sanford.

Peggy graduated high school from Olympus High in Holladay, Utah in 1978. She raised four children: her son, Blake Harding (of Salt Lake City, Utah) and her three daughters: Whitney Koster (of Idaho Falls, Idaho) Morgan Palant (of Lincoln, California), and Carly Smart (of Boise, Idaho).

Peggy spent decades working in hospitals in Utah, Idaho, and California in their Central Processing Department. In 2016 she married Danny Ernest (of Herriman, UT) and soon after they moved to St. George, Utah to retire in the sun. She would say those were some of the very best years of her life.

To know Peggy was to love her, she could find humor in any situation and became a friend to anyone she met. She had the gift of truly being excited and happy for all those around her. The people that loved her the most called her Grandma Peg.  She absolutely loved being a mother and grandma, and every one of her kids and grandkids had a very special relationship with her. Her family and friends will desperately miss her genuine nature and deep interest in all those around her. She was everyone's greatest supporter and valued her family tremendously as they did her. She will never be replaced in our lives or hearts, as we know there will never be anyone quite like her.

She is preceded in death by her father, Tom Sanford, and her stepfather, Bicknell Robbins.

In true Peggy fashion, there will be no formal funeral but instead, the family will hold a celebration of life within the coming months.