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Line 7: − '''Resting place''':<br> − Englewood Cemetery in Slaton in Lubbock County, Texas Line 19:
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|death_date=October 1, 2018 (aged 78)
|death_date=October 1, 2018 (aged 78)
|death_place=[[Lubbock]], Texas<br>
|death_place=[[Lubbock]], Texas<br>
|spouse=(1) Jerry Allison (married 1958, divorced)<br>
|spouse=(1) Jerry Allison (married 1958, divorced)<br>
(2) Lynn Rackham<br>
(2) Lynn Rackham<br>
A native of [[rural]] Olton in Lamb County in west [[Texas]], Gerron was a daughter of John Wellborn Gerron (1904-1963) and the former Lillie Ceclia Rieger (1910-2002).<ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193692927/peggy-sue-rackham|title=Peggy Sue Gerron Rackham|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=October 4, 2018}}</ref> By the time that she entered high school, the family relocated to nearby [[Lubbock]]. The song was initially titled "Cindy Lou" after Holly's niece, but when released as "Peggy Sue". At the time the song was recorded, Gerron was dating Jerry Ivan Allison (born 1939), the drummer for Holly's band, The Crickets. The couple married after she graduated from Lubbock High School but later divorced. She attended Pasadena Junior College in Pasadena, [[California]], and became a dental assistant. From a second marriage to Lynn B. Rackham (born 1939), she had a son and a daughter, Amanda Stathos. She helped her second husband to establish a successful plumbing business and became the first licensed woman plumber in California.<ref name=deathofpeggysue>{{cite web|url=http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20181001/peggy-sue-gerron-inspiration-for-buddy-holly-song-dies-in-lubbock|title=Peggy Sue Gerron, inspiration for Buddy Holly song, dies|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|author=Ray Westbrook|date=October 1, 2018|accessdate=October 4, 2018}}</ref>
A native of [[rural]] Olton in Lamb County in west [[Texas]], Gerron was a daughter of John Wellborn Gerron (1904-1963) and the former Lillie Ceclia Rieger (1910-2002).<ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193692927/peggy-sue-rackham|title=Peggy Sue Gerron Rackham|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=October 4, 2018}}</ref> By the time that she entered high school, the family relocated to nearby [[Lubbock]]. The song was initially titled "Cindy Lou" after Holly's niece, but when released as "Peggy Sue". At the time the song was recorded, Gerron was dating Jerry Ivan Allison (born 1939), the drummer for Holly's band, The Crickets. The couple married after she graduated from Lubbock High School but later divorced. She attended Pasadena Junior College in Pasadena, [[California]], and became a dental assistant. From a second marriage to Lynn B. Rackham (born 1939), she had a son and a daughter, Amanda Stathos. She helped her second husband to establish a successful plumbing business and became the first licensed woman plumber in California.<ref name=deathofpeggysue>{{cite web|url=http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20181001/peggy-sue-gerron-inspiration-for-buddy-holly-song-dies-in-lubbock|title=Peggy Sue Gerron, inspiration for Buddy Holly song, dies|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|author=Ray Westbrook|date=October 1, 2018|accessdate=October 4, 2018}}</ref>
In 1995, Gerron Rackham returned to Lubbock to care for her aging mother, who died seven years later. She was a ham radio enthusiast. In the late 1990s, she was a frequent guest on [[radio]] station KDAV, which called itself "The Buddy Holly Station" though Holly never worked there. The station has since closed. She remained in Lubbock until her death there at the age of seventy-eight.<ref name=deathofpeggysue/> A memorial service was held on October 13, 2018, at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers in Lubbock.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lubbockonline/obituary.aspx?n=peggy-gerron-rackham-peggy-sue&pid=190388840|title= Peggy Gerron "Peggy Sue" Rackham |publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=October 4, 2018}}</ref>Along with her parents, she is interred at the Englewood Cemeter in Slaton, Texas.<ref name=findagrave/>
In 1995, Gerron Rackham returned to Lubbock to care for her aging mother, who died seven years later. She was a ham radio enthusiast. In the late 1990s, she was a frequent guest on [[radio]] station KDAV, which called itself "The Buddy Holly Station" though Holly never worked there. The station has since closed. She remained in Lubbock until her death there at the age of seventy-eight.<ref name=deathofpeggysue/> A memorial service was held on October 13, 2018, at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers in Lubbock.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lubbockonline/obituary.aspx?n=peggy-gerron-rackham-peggy-sue&pid=190388840|title= Peggy Gerron "Peggy Sue" Rackham |publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=October 4, 2018}}</ref> Her burial site is unknown, but her parents are interred at the Englewood Cemetery in Slaton, Texas.<ref name=findagrave/>
The 1986 film, ''Peggy Sue Got Married,'' features actress Kathleen Turner as a 43-year-old "Peggy Sue" who faints during her 25th high school reunion, believes that she has returned to her past, and reconsiders some of her earlier decisions. In 2008, Gerron published an [[autobiography]], ''Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue?: A Memoir by Buddy Holly's Peggy Sue'', 283 pages, to mark the 50th anniversary of the song.<ref name=findagrave/> The book drew the threat of a lawsuit to prohibit publication from Holly's widow, Mary Elena Holly, who holds copyright through her company, Holly Properties. Mrs. Holly claimed that her husband never considered Gerron a friend. Gerron said that she had the right to write her book, which she claims was based on 150 diary entries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/buddy-hollys-widow-threatens-to-sue-peggy-sue-over-book|title=Buddy Holly's Widow Threatens to Sue 'Peggy Sue' Over Book|date=January 13, 2015|publisher=Foxnews.com|accessdate=October 6, 2018}}</ref>
The 1986 film, ''Peggy Sue Got Married,'' features actress Kathleen Turner as a 43-year-old "Peggy Sue" who faints during her 25th high school reunion, believes that she has returned to her past, and reconsiders some of her earlier decisions. In 2008, Gerron published an [[autobiography]], ''Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue?: A Memoir by Buddy Holly's Peggy Sue'', 283 pages, to mark the 50th anniversary of the song.<ref name=findagrave/> The book drew the threat of a lawsuit to prohibit publication from Holly's widow, Mary Elena Holly, who holds copyright through her company, Holly Properties. Mrs. Holly claimed that her husband never considered Gerron a friend. Gerron said that she had the right to write her book, which she claims was based on 150 diary entries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/buddy-hollys-widow-threatens-to-sue-peggy-sue-over-book|title=Buddy Holly's Widow Threatens to Sue 'Peggy Sue' Over Book|date=January 13, 2015|publisher=Foxnews.com|accessdate=October 6, 2018}}</ref>