Obituary of Marguerite "Peggy" Tutte - Cicconi

It is with profound sadness that the family of Peggy Tutte-Cicconi must announce her peaceful passing, at St. Vincent’s Hospital on August 11, 2026 one month shy of her 103rd birthday.  Beloved wife of the late Douglas F. Tutte and Harry B. Cicconi.  Lovingly remembered by Derrek (Jayne),, Marilyn (Steve), Carol-Ann (Gord), Lorraine (Wayne), Linda ( Mo), Leslie.  She is a proud grandmother of Garry (Andrea), Jen (Mike), Douglas (Jackie),  Peggy-Rae (Sam), Stephanie (Alex), Jeremy (Stephanie), Michael, David, Laura (Peter), Holly, Steven (Cassie Li), Jeremy (Melanie), Kimberly (Gareth).  And she is a Great-grandmother of Tegan, Taylor, Camden and Eleanor.  Predeceased by her parents, George Rettie. Phillips, Ann McLeod-Phillips, brother George R. Phillips, sister Reta M. Phillips-Hirtle, and loving daughter Carol-Ann K. Tutte-Carswell.

Peggy lived a beautiful, rich life, full of adventure. Though she experienced her fair share of loss, she always persevered through love, laughter and her secret weapon, chocolate.

Born as Marguerite Pearl Phillips on September 11, 1923 in Shubenacadie N.S. to George Phillips and Ann McLeod-Phillips. Peggy was soon followed by her sister Reta, and brother George.  In grade school, Peggy met lifelong friend Sal Davis, with whom she shared many fun adventures throughout the years. On one memorable occasion, the two pranksters tied together their classmates' coat sleeves which resulted in a trip to the principal's office. Later Sal introduced Peggy to the Philanthropic Education Organization (P.E.O), in 1987, of which Peggy remained a member for 39 years. The two mischief makers, Sal and Peggy were inseparable lifelong best friends for some 80 years.

During the war years Peggy worked at a photographer’s studio in Halifax, taking pictures of sailors, soldiers, and airmen. She enjoyed colourizing the black & white photos by hand, taking many photos of herself to try out various colour combinations. A selfie taker before her time! In her youth, Peggy enjoyed horseback riding with friends in the summer and ice skating in the winter. During one visit to the skating rink, Peggy met the love of her life, Douglas Tutte, a sailor in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). After many occasions meeting on the ice in Halifax, it wasn’t long before they decided to marry. Peggy Phillips and Douglas Tutte were married on December 13, 1944 in Halifax, N.S.

Peggy and Doug welcomed their 1st baby, Beverly Dawn in 1946 in Halifax N.S. while Doug was away at sea. Unfortunately Beverly only lived for three weeks, a heartbreaking moment for Peggy. Fortunately (for us descendants) Peggy and Doug decided to try again and welcomed their next three children, son Derrek in 1947, in Victoria B.C., followed by daughter Marilyn in 1952 in Halifax and daughter Carol-Ann joining the family in 1958 in Ottawa.

Peggy was a devoted stay at home mother dedicated to keeping her family happy while Doug was at sea; by no means an easy job contending with the complex growing pains of a young family on her own. In 1969,  Doug retired as a commanding officer after serving in the RCN for 32 years. He then accepted a position in NATO, moving the family to Brussels, Belgium for 3 years. Once his assignment was complete, Peggy and Doug returned to their home on Gilbert Ave. in Ottawa.  

In their retirement years, Peggy & Doug did a lot of travelling in their Shasta trailer. They visited relatives in Halifax and explored the Eastern Seaboard, setting up camp at Flagler Beach, Florida. After sharing 38 years of raising a family, adventuring and making wonderful memories together, Doug tragically passed away on June 10th, 1982 in Ottawa. His early passing at 62 years was a terrible loss for the whole family, especially Peggy.  Living with them at the time of Doug's passing was Peggy’s mother Ann, who continued living with Peggy for many years afterwards, offering companionship, love, support, and an overabundance of homemade muffins and lemon pie. Peggy's mother, Ann Phillips-Marsh passed away August 26th, 1995 in Ottawa.  

Eventually Peggy was reconnected with an old sailor friend from Halifax, Harry (Chic) Cicconi. Chic inquired about Peggy through her sister Reta, who put the two in touch. After a couple years of visits between  Edmonton and Ottawa, Peggy and Chic decided to marry. They were married in 1990 and bought a new  house together in Kanata, across the street from Peggy’s daughter Carol-Ann and her family. This new house became the hub of many family gatherings over the years.  Chic also brought three new daughters into Peggy's life, Lorraine, Linda and Leslie, and their husbands, Wayne, Maurice, and Garry. Over the years, Chic’s daughters visited them many times, bringing their positive fun energy and love.  Peggy and Chic joined the Kanata Legion, where they made many friends and enjoyed all the legion activities throughout the years. They were active members, selling poppies leading up to Remembrance Day, enjoying delicious Friday dinners and dances and bringing their many grandchildren to the Christmas festivities each year. Peggy and Chic also enjoyed travelling together. They travelled to Italy to visit Chic’s relatives and to Edmonton to visit his daughters. They travelled to Vancouver to visit Peggy's step mother Rose and her son Victor at their home in Tsawwassen, followed by a visit to the Tutte cottage at Point Roberts Washington. While they were in B.C. Peggy and Chic visited Banff and Jasper too. They also really enjoyed going on cruises.  Sadly, Chic passed away August 18th, 2005, after 15 years of sharing many adventures with Peggy abroad and within Canada. A year after Chic’s passing, Peggy attended her first Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose Alberta with Chic’s daughters Lorraine and Leslie; it has always remained one of her favourite adventures.

Peggy was the adored grandmother of her six grandchildren who were blessed to grow up in her warm, fun, loving presence -Garry, Jen, Douglas, Stephanie, Peggy-Rae and Jeremy. She was also fortunate to meet her four great-grandchildren – Tegan, Taylor, Camden and Eleanor. Additionally, Peggy was pleased to be a step-grandmother to Chic’s seven grandchildren, Michael, David, Laura, Holly, Steven, Jeremy, and Kimberlee as well as their children. There was never a dull moment in Peggy and Chic’s lives with all those great and grand children to fill up their home with love, laughter and endless snacks.  Peggy spent her last nine years making friends with and being well cared for by the staff at Bridlewood Trails. In her last months she expressed that it was her wish to celebrate her 103rd birthday. At one month short of the mark, we decided it would be fitting to honour her desire to reach her 103rd birthday by holding her Celebration of Life on September 11th, 2026. 

Peggy will be remembered by her children as a dedicated mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She brought love and joy and endless happiness into everyone's lives for almost 103 years. We will remember her always dressed to the nines and well put together, with a twinkle in her eye, ready to dance at a moment's notice. Armed with her impish quick witted humour, her love for living life to the fullest was extraordinary to behold. We will miss you mum.

Family and friends are invited to gather at Pinecrest Cemetery, 2500 Baseline Road, Ottawa, (613) 831-7122, on Friday, September 11, 2026 from 10 am.

Members of Kanata Legion, Branch #638 are invited to gather for a Legion Tribute on Friday, September 11, 2026 at 11 am. 

Funeral Service will be held in the chapel on Friday at 11:15 am.

Interment will follow the service. You are welcome to join us for refreshments in the Solarium. 

In lieu of flowers a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Kidney Foundation, would be appreciated.