Peggy Thompson Spears

Community Service

It would be difficult to attend any event at the Manteca Senior Center without encountering Peggy Thompson Spears. To illustrate, Peggy logged a monthly average of 100 volunteer hours in 2017 alone. She has been a vital part of the Senior Center since 2002, and was the first recipient of the Senior Center Volunteer of the Year Award in 2013. Peggy graduated from Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles before starting her 34-year career at Owens-Brockway Container Glass in Tracy. After her retirement, she began to volunteer at the Senior Center. It was while volunteering during a community fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina at the Center when she met Jim Spears. Peggy and Jim married in 2007 at the Senior Center. The two remain active at the Center, and are featured in the 2018 Senior Wall Calendar re-enacting a scene from the movie “Titanic.” Peggy and Jim have a total of six adult children between them, as well as one daughter who has passed. In 2010, Peggy was appointed to the Senior Advisory Committee (SAC). She is now in her third term, and currently serves as Co-Chair. In addition to serving on the SAC, she is involved with nutrition/kitchen services, Senior Center Breakfast Program, and assistance with regular and special events at the Center each month. Peggy has been recognized for her volunteerism by Congressman Jerry McNerney, San Joaquin County and the City of Manteca. Those who work beside her at the Center say “Peggy is the glue that holds everyone together.”