My Mother Died
When my mother died on January 16, 2026 I realized that she had lived with her Alzheimer’s five years past when my father died in 2021. For five years my sister and I managed the facilities, hospitals, finances and most of all, the dreaded phone calls that something had happened to her.
I know I developed PTSD.
I am learning what the grief process is.
Both were words until they become part of my life experience.
My sister, husband and I were sitting by her side when she left this earth. She was here and then she wasn’t. Peacefully. Gracefully.
And then she turned on a light in her room.
This is the obituary I wrote for her. The funeral home used it. I also made a video.
Just something I needed to do.
Peggy Kopp Obituary
Peggy Joanne (Riggs) Kopp passed peacefully and gently on January 16, 2026, after a long, valiant battle with Alzheimer's, with her daughters, Kimberly (Kopp) Krause Berg, Sherry (Kopp) Darr and son-in-law, Eric Berg at her side. Peggy is preceded in death by her beloved soul mate husband, Arthur Robert Kopp (2021), devoted son-in-law Master Sgt. Special Forces Rick Darr, her parents, John and Daisy (Wells) Riggs, sisters, Dorothy Springer, Wanda Ketelhut and brother, Sgt. John Riggs.
In addition to her daughters, Peggy is survived by her 3 grandchildren, Arielle Joanna (Krause) DeAngelo and husband Jordan DeAngelo, Stefan Richard Krause and wife Audrey Delp, Elliot Darr and step-grandson, Andrew Berg. She was blessed with 3 great-grandchildren, Eloise Aspen and Olaia Juniper DeAngelo and Ronin Hayes Krause.
Peggy was ahead of her time. Fiercely independent, she was a working mom in the 1970’s, having taught herself the skills to achieve the role of Administrative Secretary to Federal Judge Herman in Harrisburg. Married in Lakeside, Michigan to Arthur in 1956, they followed his career as a pioneering electronics engineer and inventor, eventually landing in Pennsylvania where they would carry out Peggy’s childhood hobby as an equestrian by finding a property they cherished in Ottsville.
There, she worked for what she called her own “mad money” to pay for horse show classes, horse tack, and of course, horses. She owned four of them as well as supported Kim and Sherry’s horses. She and Arthur adopted a German Shepard Black Lab mix puppy named “Bourbon”, who would become their devoted companion when layoffs in the late 1970’s changed their lives. They sold the farm and horses and moved to central PA, where they and Bourbon were regular visitors to nearby Pinchot Park, and where Peggy delightfully strapped her first granddaughter to her chest, walked into a grove of trees, announcing, “I’m introducing my grand daughter to the tree spirits!” This is where Kim and Sherry will return Peggy and Arthur to be together by the lake, fields, and trees they loved.
Peggy’s care was extraordinary. We wish to thank the staff of Saucon Valley Manor in Hellertown for treating her like family and Family Pillars Hospice for their expertise and compassion for Peggy. We are forever grateful and truly touched by everyone’s flexibility and generosity towards us as we experienced the long goodbye to our mother. Of note, a ceiling lamp in Peggy’s room was not functional, and yet the moment the first staff member entered the room to verify Peggy’s heart had finally stopped, the lamp burst on and filled the room with light.
Sisters, Kim and Sherry, thank everyone for their prayers and years of support. We know our mother is finally with our father, and at peace conversing with wisdom teachers in God’s world.
In lieu of flowers, please feel free to donate to https://www.safehaventhoroughbredrescue.org/ or support your favorite food pantry or animal rescue.
