Peggy Ann Erskine
- Published: November 7, 2024
Peggy Ann Erskine passed away at Hospice of Dayton on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. Just a few weeks earlier, she had been actively preparing for a volunteer work project at her alma mater. Friends and family miss her tremendously.
Peggy was born Nov. 12, 1937, in Nashville, Tennessee, to Frances Rich George and Walter Alexander George Jr. As a young woman, she moved to Yellow Springs to attend Antioch College, where she met and married David Roy Erskine. They were married 62 years, until his death in 2020. Peggy said that she and David came to town as students, but never broke the Antioch apron strings, remaining in the village the rest of their lives, except for a brief stint in Massachusetts in the early ’80s.
After college, Peggy pursued several occupations. She worked for the Anthropology Research Project, pausing for a few years when her daughter, Ann, was born in 1965. A decade later, Peggy was ready to try something new, and began nursing school, graduating in 1975, and then working at Community Hospital in Springfield. From 1982–94, she served as administrative director of The Antioch School, which she said was her favorite job, because of the school’s caring environment. From 1996-–2000, she was director of alumni relations at Antioch College.
In retirement, Peggy and David traveled widely, often camping or sailing. They visited 48 states and all but one Canadian province, including a 500-mile canoe trip in the Northwest Territories. Peggy’s enthusiasm for travel was so strong that David once said, if he had the occasion to marry again, he would examine the lady for any smidgeon of wanderlust, and if he found any, he’d run the other way.
Peggy’s favorite retirement activities included downhill skiing, needle crafts, gardening, cooking and assembling family history and photos in scrapbooks. Peggy was confused by those who wondered how to fill their time in retirement, as her own brand of volunteerism included attendance at countless meetings, preparing and running numerous events over many decades, and working at the polls on election day. She devoted astonishing energy to community groups and projects, often in leadership roles for the Yellow Springs Historical Society, the James A. McKee Association, the Yellow Springs Tree Committee and Antioch College alumni volunteer projects. Other community organizations she held dear included Tecumseh Land Trust, the Yellow Springs Community Foundation and Glen Helen.
For a number of years, Peggy and David carefully planned and hosted lengthy summer visits for grandkids that involved deep dives into the children’s particular interests, including the natural world, engineering, and tractor driving in the backyard. They enjoyed loving connections with extended family, traveling with their refurbished Airstream, or expertly finding the best airfares for a trip to the beach.
Peggy’s many friendships were deep and enduring, and she was widely loved for her warm generosity, calm pragmatism and good-humored authority. She is survived by dozens of devoted friends; her siblings, Kathy George Horner (Gene) and Walter Alexander George III (Sally); her daughter, Elizabeth Ann Erskine Zumwalt (John); grandchildren, Lindsay Zumwalt and John David Zumwalt; and nieces and nephews, Katie Alpert, Lindsay Lewis, Leigh George, Gene Horner III, and Alexander George III.
Peggy and David’s ashes will be interred together at Glen Forest Cemetery, and a celebration of life will be held at a date to be determined. Those wishing to honor Peggy with memorial contributions are encouraged to consider gifts to The Antioch School, Tecumseh Land Trust, the Yellow Springs Community Foundation or the Glen Helen Association.
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