Virginia Peden dies; physician who specialized in pediatric research.

Byline: Jim Gallagher

June 26--When people would ask Virginia Peden what kind of doctor she was, she'd answer, "A darned good one." She was a pediatric endocrinologist who healed children and taught young physicians for many years at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center. It was there that she pioneered nutrition methods for premature infants in the 1960s and 1970s. Her research is still cited in medical journals, said her son, Douglas Peden of St. Louis. Dr. Peden died May 28, 2011, of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Brooking Park in Chesterfield. She was 88. Dr. Peden grew up in Mount Vernon, Ill., the daughter of a feed salesman and a …