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CROOKS EILEEN MARGARET "PEGGY" (COLLINGWOOD) Of Bradfordwoods, passed from her earthly body peacefully in her sleep on July 12, 2017, at the age of 76. Peggy was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of the late Cuthbert Crawford Collingwood and Mabel Eileen (Dumar) Collingwood on August 9, 1940. She attended Conrad High School where she participated in the band as a majorette and enjoyed sports including basketball and field hockey. Peggy was an avid dancer and trained in both acrobatic dance as well as tap dancing. However, her real passion in life was nursing and Peggy earned her Bachelor of Nursing degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Maryland, after a two year program at the University of Delaware. Peggy met and married her husband of 52 years, Kenneth L. Crooks, after graduation from Nursing School in 1963. She was a Nursing Instructor at Johns Hopkins for several years before moving to Mercy Hospital in Baltimore as a Med - Surg. Charge Nurse. Peggy was active in the Perry Hall Methodist Church where she started a group for women called W.I.S.H. or Women Interested in Serving and Helping. The group continues still in Baltimore County today. Peggy also found time to serve as Secretary in the Perry Hall Improvement Association in Baltimore County, Maryland, as an active member of the community. Peggy left her nursing career to raise her daughter, Jessica D. Mitchell, of Mars, PA and her son, Andrew K. (Terri Renee) Crooks, of Cincinnati, Ohio. The family relocated to Middletown, Ohio, in 1976, where Peggy became a Deaconess in the First Presbyterian Church of Middletown while also teaching Sunday School at the church for many years. Every summer she turned her skills to "nursing" a vegetable garden which supplied fresh tomatoes, unending supplies of zucchini, corn and a variety of summer treats. As the children grew older, Peggy returned to nursing after completing a "refresher" course at the University of Cincinnati. In 1988, the family came to Bradfordwoods north of Pittsburgh and Peggy became active in the programs of Orchard Hill Church working with Mrs. Cordy Glenn in the Care Response Ministry while also serving on the Usher Team at Sunday Service. Peggy also served as a Group Leader in Bible Study Fellowship, an outreach to women from various churches. Her call to nursing soon led her to UPMC Passavant Hospital in a nursing support role until her retirement in 2008. Peggy is survived by her husband; her two children; her granddaughter, Mauren Eileen Mitchell, of Mars, PA; her sister-in-law, Carole Williams, of Syracuse, NY; and three cousins, James (Christine) Collingwood, of Buffalo, NY, Douglas (Barbara) Collingwood, of Auburn, NY, and Ms. Louise Joudrie, of Anchorage, AL. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the Orchard Hill Church in Wexford on August 19, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. The family will receive visitors starting at 10:00 a.m. followed by the Memorial Service and a luncheon. Private burial will be in the Sewickley Cemetery in Sewickley, PA. Memorials in Peggy's name may be made to Orchard Hill Church, 2551 Brandt School Road, Wexford, PA 15090, or the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Joan M. Sutton Scholarship Fund, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205. Professional Services Trusted to THOMAS M. SMITH FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY, LTD., (Blawnox) www.thomasmsmithfh.com Send condolences post-gazette.com/gb
