Peggy Hirsch, 67, a teacher at Broken Bow Elementary School for more than 25 years, died at approximately 7:35 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2012, at Jennie M. Melham Memorial Medical Center of complications due to interstitial lung disease.
Peggy, daughter of Charles Ernest and Ellen Elizabeth Harvey, was born June 14, 1945, in Denver, Colo., and grew up in Edgewater, a little town on the west side of Denver. The family moved to Kansas City, Kan., in 1957, and after graduating from Shawnee Mission North High School in 1963, Peggy attended Kansas State University at Manhattan, Kan., where she majored in elementary education and joined Pi Beta Phi sorority. She graduated in 1967, taught school for a year in Overland Park, Kan., and in 1968 married Neil Hirsch, of Callaway, whom she met while they were both in college.
Over the next several years, they moved around Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa as Neil pursued farming and ranching enterprises. During those years, Peggy taught in Lincoln, Dodge City, Kan., and Oconto and Callaway. Ultimately, they settled in central Nebraska and, while living outside of Anselmo, their daughter, Heather Elizabeth, was born March 28, 1975. Neil and Peggy were divorced in 1979.
For most of her teaching years, she lived one block from school on N. 13th St. and she earned a master’s degree in Special Education from Kearney State College in 1984. She also pursued numerous hobbies and interests – sewing, home decoration, bridge, gardening, bike riding and walks with friends – and she and her daughter traveled often to Denver to visit Peggy’s parents over the years. Following her retirement from teaching full time, she enjoyed traveling to various places, including San Francisco, England, Hawaii, South Padre Island and Alaska. She also enjoyed traveling to Dallas, Texas, during the 10 years that her daughter lived there.
On April 20, 2007, Peggy survived a tornado that broke her back, neck, pelvis and more ribs than the medical staff could count. Soon after the tornado struck, her daughter created a Caring Bridge site on the Internet to keep friends and family updated on her progress. Peggy was determined to return to a normal life and tackled rehabilitation with great dedication. Within a year, she was able to walk again, occasionally relying upon a cane. Subsequently, she developed a lung condition and had to depend upon oxygen. Her lung infections worsened and sent her back to the hospital repeatedly. At her last return to the hospital, she decided to decline all further treatment and died quietly the next day.
She is survived by her daughter, Heather (Jay) Dunning, of Kearney; her brother, Robert (Linda) Harvey, of Commerce City, Colo.; significant other of 21 years, Don Lydic, of Brady; mother-in-law, Elleanor Hirsch, of Callaway; sisters-in-law, Julie (Mark) Freburg, of Holdrege, Diane (Greg) Musfeldt, of Ft. Worth, Texas; three nieces; three nephews; and countless friends, who visited the Caring Bridge page 6,182 times since the tornado struck. She will be greatly missed.
Services will be at 11 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Presbyterian Church in Broken Bow with the Rev. Sharon Ruzicka officiating. Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., today, with the family greeting friends from 5-7 p.m. at Govier Brothers in Broken Bow.
Memorials are suggested to the American Lung Association , the family, National Jewish Health Center or Caring Bridge.