Peggy Ann Schilling passed away June 26, 2025 at her home following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Peggy was born on August 28, 1957 to Bill and Mary Schilling in Amery, WI. The family moved around a little bit, out to California for a time, and then back to Wisconsin. They continued to travel the United States visiting family and friends. Peggy always got a window seat in the car so she could see where they were going (and to keep her and her older sister from fighting). On the way cross-country to visit family and friends, Peggy and her siblings slept shoulder to shoulder in what they affectionately called the “sardine can.”

After high school, Peggy took the Medical Assistant course at WITC (now Northwood Tech). She then started working with the doctors at Cumberland Hospital. She moved to billing and coding eventually, earning a professional coding certification. Peggy worked her entire career at Cumberland Healthcare, retiring in 2021.

As an adult, Peggy loved to travel and did so often. She traveled with her family, going to countless destinations, collecting souvenirs, including her beloved cuckoo clock from Germany. She also frequented local fairs and other events with family and friends. She also went to concerts and plays locally, and most recently went on a bus trip to St. Louis, Missouri to see the arch.

Peggy loved spending time with her nieces and nephews. Most weekends, you could find at least a couple of them at her house. When she lived in McKinley, the kids were swimming in the lake at every opportunity. Her cookie jar was always full of treats, usually oatmeal cookies. Most often, it was oatmeal raisin, but once in a while it would be oatmeal chocolate chip. Peggy always had pop tarts, ramen noodles and hotdogs for the kids when they were over. And for dessert, her freezer was always full of Schwan’s treats, including Orange push-ups and drumsticks. They were also a refreshing treat after swimming on a hot day.

If it was raining or cold out when the kids were over, she had lots of toys for the kids to play with, and most notable were all the California Raisins figures that she got from Hardee’s kids meals. She also shared her love of Kenny Rogers, MacGuyver, and every Disney movie known to VHS. To encourage them to rewind all of the videos, Peggy invested in a convertible shaped VHS rewinder, so there were no breaks needed between movies. Peggy also had many samples of Avon goods, which the kids used to practice their artistic skills on each other.

Peggy was a brave soul, taking all the kids to ValleyFair on her birthday every year when they were younger. She would pile them in her Blazer and off they would go, navigating the traffic in the cities. She packed a cooler picnic and at lunch time, we would all trek out to the car and enjoy a fine selection of sliced cheeses, meats, crackers, and Hi-C orange or Ecto-Plasma coolers. Once everyone was full and hydrated, she’d usher them back in for a few more rides before heading home.

Peggy was her nieces and nephew’s biggest cheerleader. She never missed a game, parade, concert, or play. The kids could always find Peggy out in the audience enjoying the show. She was often spotted with a “handheld” shoulder camera recording every moment.

Peggy was an avid gardener and lover of the outdoors. Every year her garden got larger, and she was always asking for opinions of what she might grow next year. Staples in her garden were tomatoes (when they would grow), green beans, calla lilies, and zucchini. As everyone in Wisconsin knows, zucchini grow very well here, and sometimes, if you leave your car unlocked the zucchini fairy might leave a Walmart bag full in your car for you. So, to use it up, Peggy used her zucchini in everything from breads and cakes to lasagna. She would often tell everyone that it tasted like apple pie… and most of her zucchini creations weren’t too bad, even if not actually apple flavored. She was always trying to get her loved ones to eat their vegetables, and would sneak things like eggplant, zucchini (again!), and spaghetti squash wherever she thought it tasted good. Peggy was also very into pickling and canning, and preserved the vegetables that didn’t get eaten fresh for later.

Peggy also loved entering her veggies, flowers, and crafts in the Polk County Fair every year. She entered one of nearly everything she grew and also a lot of crafts that she created throughout the year. She liked to try new things, like making apple butter, Apple Cider vinegar, or salsas to enter.

Peggy also made an event of going to the Minnesota State Fair every year around her birthday. After making sure to climb the tower, she would wander the fairgrounds, collecting one of every free pen or magnet or weird flavored chapstick she could get her hands on. She had to collect all the reusable bags every year to put all her free stuff in. Everyone who went with Peggy was sent through the line too, so she could get multiple free items. She was always looking for a good deal - better if it was free, and better yet, if she could get a couple free! Each year before arriving at the fair, she would have a plan of what she wanted to get, where it was, and if there was a specific time that she could grab it. And, since Cumberland’s Rutabaga festival occurred near her birthday, she never missed a chance to get a serving of rutabagas from one of the booths.

Peggy was a crafter - she sewed, quilted, did macrame, and occasionally crocheted doilies. When some of the kids were younger, she would craft cute little outfits for them. Once they were older, the scraps from those outfits were used for quilts she then gifted to the wearers. She quilted at the Bone Lake church on Fridays, making quilts to donate to various causes. Peggy also went all out for Halloween, making scarecrows out of old clothes and skeletons out of milk jugs!

Peggy was preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Mary, her sister Susan.

She will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by her aunt Betty, uncle Ray (Helga), siblings Kathy, Brad (Pam), and Holly, nieces Heather (John) and Ashley (Jake), nephews Leroy, Ryan (Tracey), Brandon, and Jordan (Shelly), adopted cousin Jesse & family, grand nieces and nephews Matthew, Kaylie, Ryley, Cashton, James, Miles, Zydane, Oliver, Eli, and Emma, countless other relatives, friends, and neighbors.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM at Rowe Funeral Home (206 2nd Ave E, Luck, WI 54853). A memorial service will be held on Thursday, July 10, 2025 at 11:00 AM with visitation one hour prior at Bone Lake Lutheran Church (1101 255th Ave, Luck, WI 54853).

Last Update: Jul 01, 2025 7:25 am CDT