Audrey (Brown) Peel McCaw

After 98 good years, Audrey Peel McCaw died peacefully on October 3, 2022.  She was a resident at Heritage Health in Litchfield, Illinois.  The cause of death was complications from old age. 

Audrey (Brown) Peel McCaw descended from one of the earliest settlers in what is now Montgomery County, Illinois.  Her family moved here 187 years ago from the east to what is now Butler. From Butler they moved to Hillsboro.  Her relatives fought with George Washington in the Revolutionary war.  Family lore dates the Brown family back to descendants from the Mayflower.  She was a member of one of the longest continuous families to reside in Hillsboro and Montgomery County.

Audrey was a mother, educator, artist and community leader.  She led the family on travel adventures throughout the country and to Europe.  She had an enthusiastic interest in sports, movies and books.  She never missed a St. Louis Cardinals game and read about forty books a year. Even at the age of ninety, she took a weekly film class with the Sarasota film society. 

She was the first member of her family to attend college.  After graduating from Hillsboro High School in 1942, she attended both the University of Illinois and Greenville College.  She spent many years teaching in Hillsboro and Coffeen—and even for one semester coached the Coffeen junior high school boys’ basketball team.  She was a devoted fan of former students. She also spent several years as a travel agent at Hillsboro’s Happy Travel. 

She was a long-time board member of the Hillsboro Library and the Oak Grove Cemetery.  She was a lifetime member of the Hillsboro Study Group, the Montgomery County Historical Society and the Hillsboro Country Club.  She was also a member of the Hillsboro Hospital Auxiliary, the Hillsboro and Holmes Beach book clubs, the Hillsboro First Presbyterian Church, the Hillsboro Investment Club, the Couples Club, the Red Hat Ladies, the “Thirsty Thursdays” and the Hillsboro Lake PCA.  She was a proud member of the Hillsboro bowling team called “The Punks.” (All team members were under 5.5 feet tall.)

She loved going to Cardinals’ games, Hillsboro football, basketball games, to the St. Louis Municipal Opera and shopping trips to Stix Baer and Fuller in St. Louis. For fifty years she spent the winter in Florida and the remainder of the year in Hillsboro. She was also an artist specializing in oil paintings of the Hillsboro community. 

She was preceded in death by her first husband, Robert “Bob “Peel, and her second husband, Richard “Dick” McCaw. She is survived by her daughter Christy Peel Barber (husband George) of Georgetown, Texas and son Terry Peel (wife Ann) of Bethesda, Maryland.  On the Peel side of the family, she has six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. On the McCaw side of the family, she has seven grandchildren, sixteen great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.   

An enthusiastic fan of dining out, her motto has always been, “If you want to have my home cooked meal, I’ll make a reservation.” 

A memorial service will be held at a future date.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Hillsboro Public Library. 

Condolences can be left at www.houghfuneralhome.com

Hough& Sons Funeral Home in Hillsboro is in charge of arrangements.