On October 2nd, 2024, Peggy Kopf passed away, age 83 years, after a stroke. She died peacefully in her home of fifty years, surrounded by her family, including her two Skye Terriers, Susie and Fanny.

Margaret "Peggy" Kopf was born November 15th, 1940, in Milford, CT, to James and Euphemia Rutherford.

She attended University of Connecticut where she studied biology. She was active in the UCONN Outing club whose activities included camping and spelunking. This is where she met John, her future husband. Peggy graduated 1958, and they were married 1961. Their daughter, Betty was born in June of 1962. The family moved to Spartan Village in Lansing, while John was attending Michigan State for his doctorate, where their son, Eric, was born in October of 1965.

In 1968, after graduating, John got a job with Lawrence Livermore Radiation Laboratory at UC Berkeley, and the family moved to California, first to Pleasant Hill, then Kensington. In 1974, John got a job at Tymshare, a tech company in the south bay, and the family moved to Cupertino.

Peggy was always interested in crafts. She hand spun and hand dyed yarn. She knitted, embroidered, sewed...she did calligraphy and graphic design. She loved to read, especially mysteries, but she also was an avid history buff and studied all kinds of different areas. Museums and living history days were here ideas of fun. In retirement, John purchased a 1929 Model A and the two of them found a great community in the Santa Clara Valley Model A Club.

While the kids were still in grade school, Peggy volunteered at the elementary school library. In the late '70s, after some classes at De Anza College, Peggy worked in Technical Services in the Sunnyvale Public Library, repairing books all the way until her retirement in 2004.

Peggy was always a dog person. She had Patches when she was growing up. In Michigan, Sparky, a Collie-German Shepard mix, joined the family. But Peggy was interested in some particular breeds and dog shows and eventually, Bertie, a Scottish Deerhound joined...then Megan, and Tosh, and so many more. Peggy became very involved in the Scottish Deerhound club and was always excited to be crafting decorations for shows and events. After many years and two knee and hip surgeries, she found she couldn't keep up with Deerhounds in the show ring, and migrated to Skye Terriers - a much shorter breed. So many Skyes...Sherman, Lila, Susie, Fanny, Freddy. Peggy continued to be very active in the Skye Terrier club. In July 2024, though not in great health, Peggy was excited and thankful to be able to attend her last dog show at Long Beach in Southern California. This past year, at the Skye Terrier Specialty in Colorado, the Columbine Skye Club dedicated one of the days to Peggy using her Starry Skyes banner design (a reworking of Van Gogh's Starry Night).

Peggy had a good sense of humor and loved to chat. She always seemed to be interested in everything. Paraphrasing the poem Inventory by Dorothy Parker, Peggy said:

"Three be the things I am never without -- curiosity, freckles, and doubt."

Her daughter, Betty, passed away unexpectedly in September of 2000 at age 38. Her husband of 48 years, John, passed away in March of 2009. Her only sibling, her older brother, David, passed away in 2023 on St. Patrick's day. Peggy is survived her son Eric, granddaughter Terra, and grandson Milo, and her two loving pups, Susie and Fanny who are now living with a new pack in Colorado.