Kathy Stewart, friend

Pegi and I met over 50 years ago when we were both spending a year at school in Neuchatel, Switzerland. I have a letter I wrote to my parents six weeks into the school year in which I referred to something I had done with  "my best friend, Pegi Dover.”  It obviously hadn’t taken me long to realize that she was someone very special. 

Peg always seemed to see the best in people, treating friends and strangers with the same kindness and respect.  When she and I were in our mid-twenties we were both living in Ottawa. I remember meeting up with Peg on the street one day and she told me she had just given a panhandler $20. While not surprised that Peg would help someone in need, I was taken aback by the amount of money. Sensing my possible disapproval she defended her gesture by saying this fellow was extremely grateful for her help, and he really wanted to pay her back. Peg, in her belief that people are good and trustworthy gave this stranger her home address so he would be able to fulfill his promise and repay the $20. Now I don’t know if she got her $20 back or whether forty years later she would trust a stranger exactly the same way. They’re both possible. What I am absolutely certain about is that Peg has helped countless people…both friends and strangers with her kind and generous spirit. 

Although Peg and I rarely lived in the same city there hasn’t been a birthday or occasion of any kind that she did not remember and help celebrate. Her way of making one feel special meant that when we got together it was the best of times. When travelling together I saw her enthusiasm for discovering new places and meeting new people. When volunteering at the CEGN conferences, I saw her in a leadership role and saw the admiration and respect she received from her colleagues.  And when in her home, I saw her as the devoted mother and wife and the love she had for all things family.

I am so very lucky to have been Pegi’s friend.