Peg (Davida Margaret) Lybarger Wilke passed away peacefully on Sept. 6, 2014 at home in Bellingham, Washington. She was born Jan. 21, 1921 in Coshocton, Ohio, the third of four children of Harry and Ethel (Finney) Lybarger. She spent happy, barefoot summers on the Walhonding River, at the family cottage built by her grandfather, a Civil War Union veteran. After graduating from Coshocton High School in 1938, she attended Westminster College for two years, then the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating in 1943 with a B.S. in Physical Education, the foundation of her lifetime interest in health and fitness. Peg married Richard Wilke in 1944. Their only daughter Jennifer was born in 1949 in Milwaukee, WI. Richard’s career with the U.S. Forest Service took the family to Michigan, New Orleans, Tulsa, Missoula, Montana, Washington, D.C. and Juneau, Alaska. Everywhere she lived, Peg quickly gained new friends and stayed in touch after she moved away. Divorced in 1968, Peg earned an M.A. in Counseling and Guidance from the University of Montana and in 1970 began her 19-year career as a guidance counselor for the Bellingham School District, first at Whatcom Middle School, then Shuksan Middle School. Boosting students’ self-esteem was one of her primary professional goals. She was active in the Washington Counseling Association, and after her retirement in 1989, with the Washington State Retired Teachers’ Association. She volunteered for Lydia Place, R.S.V.P., and was a docent at Hovander House. She was an active member of St. James Presbyterian Church, as deacon, elder, and member of the bell choir. As her health declined, she prized her many St. James friends and Pastor Jon Hauerwas. Peg approached life as a team sport. For many years she was a bowler, golfer, hiker, bicycler, skier, and swimmer. She did water aerobics into her 80’s. She liked to tell the story about volunteering for a teachers’ team for Ski to Sea when she was new to Bellingham and sailing was the last leg of the race. Becalmed in the middle of the bay, they were happy to find their teammates loyally waiting on shore to cheer their (disqualifying) late arrival. Of all the changes during her lifetime, she was most thrilled by today’s expanded opportunities for women in sports, and the emphasis on healthy lifestyles. She is proceeded in death by her parents, sisters Nancy Rhoades and Mary Collins, and her brother Edwin Lybarger II, whose gift of a box camera inspired her lifelong devotion to photographing her friends and exploits. Peg is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Wilke, of Bellingham, and numerous nieces, nephews and their families. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Whatcom Hospice Foundation, 2901 Squalicum Parkway, Bellingham, WA 98225. In lieu of mourning, Peg wants her friends to have a party and nobody be sad. The memorial service will be Sunday, Sept. 21 at 4pm at St. James Presbyterian Church in Bellingham. Family and friends are encouraged to share memories and condolences at www.whidbeymemorial.com.

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