Margaret Ann Walbert

Margaret Ann (“Peggy”) Walbert (nee Rothermel), passed away peacefully in her sleep, in the presence of family, on January 2, 2025, at Country Meadows Retirement Community in Frederick, Maryland. She was 84. Peggy was born on November 26, 1940, the daughter of Irvin Lewis Rothermel, a Corporal with the Pennsylvania State Police, and Charlotte Emily (McLaughlin) Rothermel, of Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania. In 1950 the family moved to the charming Pennsylvania borough of Doylestown, where Peggy would spend the remainder of her childhood. During her formative years there, she fell in love with dancing and piano, became a gifted student of classical ballet, and even studied at the Professional Children’s School in New York City on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, dreaming of having her own studio one day. When she wasn’t pirouetting on Broadway and West, she and her older brother George spent summers at the family lakeside cabin in the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania, sitting cross-legged by a turntable listening to 45’s of “the Twist,” “Purple People Eater,” and other popular songs of the late 1950’s. She made many friends there at Dingman’s Ferry, and developed a life-long affinity for mountains and the serenity offered by their majesty. In 1961, at the behest of a family friend, one of mom’s dance performances was attended by a dashing young Marylander – a veterinarian and cross country pilot by the name of Donald T. Walbert. After the show, Peggy and Donald were introduced to each other by Don’s sister, Virginia, and that was that. On February 17, 1962, our petite, lithe ballet dancer Margaret Ann Rothermel married Donald, and in rather short order the family expanded from two to seven. Don and Peg would remain married for 62 years until his passing on July fourth of 2024. And here’s where Peggy’s legacy became cemented as a wife and mother of two sons and three daughters (“five in under five” was her battle cry). From diapers to driving, from crying to college, over the next 23 years Peg traded her dreams of dancing on Broadway for the rugged challenge of raising five children - without a single fatality. She was a master in the kitchen of a twenty-one meals plan, an after-school-activity taxi service sans pareil, and an exceptional overseer of curfews, homework, and the countless other minutiae that comes with being Mom. And that was just Monday through Friday. When not tracking down her offspring, Peggy loved tennis, swimming, and piano – and formally taught all of those activities to us (her children) and to other children in organized settings. She was a gifted socialite who taught us which fork to use and the subtle skill of engaging in intelligent conversation. She was a voracious reader, and constantly encouraged us to become the same. Most of all, she was able to sculpt for her children the fondest childhood memories possible. She was the very best. Eventually, her children became self-sufficient and blazed their collective trail to Washington College in Chestertown, MD. Peggy also found herself at WC as an employee in the institution’s Development Department. Before long, she was enrolled in classes and marching towards a degree. In May of 1989, at the tender age of 49, she strode across the stage at commencement to accept her B.A. in History. Moments later her oldest son walked across the same stage for his diploma. It was a proud moment for both. Peggy went on to earn her M.S. in History, and at West Virginia University completed all work other than her dissertation towards a Ph.D. in Quaker history. Peggy is predeceased by her husband of sixty-two years, Donald, and her parents, Irvin and Charlotte Rothermel. She is survived by her five children: Tim Walbert (Natalie), Beth Pinder (Michael), Holly Hamann, Andy Walbert (Diana), and Valerie Bodnar; seven grandchildren; her brother, George McLaughlin; nephew Guy Rothermel; and nieces Meg Garner and Joan Kaiser. Visitation will be at Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, 408 S. Liberty Street, Centreville, MD, on Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., immediately followed by a funeral service at the same location. Interment will be at Old Wye Church Cemetery, 14114 Old Wye Mills Rd., Wye Mills, MD. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Maryland’s beautiful Adkins Arboretum, surrounded by (but separate from) Tuckahoe State Park, one of Peg and Don’s very favorite places to hike, reflect, and revel together in its simple splendor.

Margaret Ann Walbert

November 26, 1940 - January 2, 2025