02/28/2026
Many of you knew Peggy was diagnosed with cancer about a year and a half ago. She faced it head-on the whole time, which was just like her, and we were together through it. She passed last week, surrounded by her family.
She was our mom, my dad’s partner for 61 years, a grandma, an aunt, a cousin, a sister, and a best friend to more people than we can count. With 36 first cousins and many longtime friends who moved up to "cousin" status. She was truly a mom at heart to so many.
She was a soccer mom in the truest sense because she actually played, (Justin and I didn’t) and she showed up just as fully for basketball and flag football as women’s rec sports took off in Eugene. She was incredibly tough, having both knees and both shoulders replaced with only local anesthetic, managing the pain with just Advil and Tylenol. Later, she kept in shape playing ping pong with friends in Brownsville. She was a lifelong Duck fan, always cheering loud and proud. And for the next generation of athletes in our family, she was always there, encouraging and cheering them on. She watched every game, whether in person or on TV, and it became a ritual to talk with her sister Patsy before, at halftime, and after.
She was a “goat lady”, raising over 40 Pygora goats during their years in Brownsville, and an animal lover through and through. She loved gardening and was also a daffodil grower and member and judge with the Oregon Daffodil Society.
She had a creative spirit that ran deep. A crafter, master knitter, doll maker, and one of the early vendors at the Eugene Saturday Market, selling macramé. She was amazing at anything she put her talents to. She taught my brother and me that it was okay to run with scissors and, more importantly, to follow our ideas, make things, and encouraged our creativity.
She had a gift for bringing people together. She planned epic family reunions alongside family, on both sides of our family, and really showed us how important family is and how important it is to stay connected to lifelong friends.
She and my Dad were married for 58 of the 61 years they shared together, working side by side, traveling when he worked for the family lottery dispenser company, and running a small farm. A lot of that time also included cribbage. They played over 3,100 games. At one point my dad was ahead by 100, but she caught up, got serious about it, and ended up ahead by more than 80 games. When he once asked how long they would keep playing, she said, “until death do us part.”
She was a friend, a confidant, and someone we could always reach out to. It’s going to take a long time to get used to not being able to be with her and share things, the everyday moments, the calls, the little updates we always wanted to tell her first.
We are planning a celebration of her life for late spring or early summer and will keep you posted.
