Peggy passed away peacefully at her home in Rollinsville before dawn on August 2, 2021, at the age of 77. She was with her family and caregivers who supported her as she courageously battled a rare form of Parkinson’s disease. Throughout her illness she maintained a positive attitude and enjoyed the time she was able to spend with her friends and family.
She was born Marion Peggy Sichel April 19, 1944, in New York City, where she attended elementary and high school. She received her Associate Degree in Nursing from Bergen Community College, her BSN from Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, her Masters in Public Health Nursing from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and was a member of Sigma Theta Tau International (the Honor Society of Nursing).
While living in New Jersey, Peggy was employed as head nurse of the Psychiatric Unit at Hackensack Medical Center, at Northwest Bergen Hospice, as substitute school nurse for Pascack Valley Regional High Schools, and as head nurse in the Forensic (Jail) Unit of Bergen Pines County Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey. She donated her time to various organizations, most notably as Commissioner of the Montvale Athletic League (Little League) and as a committee member for Boy Scout Troop 126 (it was a trip to Colorado with this unit that eventually led to her moving here).
Peggy and Gene moved to Gilpin County in 1993 and built their home in Rollinsville in 1995. She worked as the Gilpin County Public Health Nurse Manager from 1994 until 2003 and served as the County’s representative to the Jefferson Center for Mental Health and the Gilpin Ambulance Authority. As the County Nurse, she organized the Gilpin
County Senior
Program (with Volunteers of America), was the liaison with the Gilpin Schools and performed nursing services for the jail. She became the Jail Nurse when the new Justice Center was built in 2003 until she retired in 2009, after which she taught Public Health Nursing at CU until 2012.
She volunteered on the Board of Directors, Eagles’ Nest Early Learning Center at the time of its construction, Friends of the Gilpin County Library, Ermel’s Thrift Shop (St. James United Methodist Church, Central City), the Alan Green Memorial Foundation and the High Country Fire Auxiliary.
Peggy is survived by her daughter, Lori Weissman of Mahwah, New Jersey, and her husband Eugene (Gene) Rothe of Rollinsville, as well as her cousins, Yvonne Lumsden of Thornton, Colorado, and Sue Loeser of Riverdale, New York, and Delray Beach, Florida. She was preceded in death by her daughter Deborah Weissman Wallis.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the Gilpin County Community Center at Noon on Saturday, October 9, 2021. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MichaelJFox.org) or the Scleroderma Foundation (Scleroderma.org).
