Peggy Burrough ‘made everyone feel like they were the most important person in her life’
Peggy Burrough tripped while out for a choir festival site visit with colleagues in 2014.
She was covered in bruises and broke her arm, longtime colleague and friend Todd Giltner said.
Yet, her stint in a cast didn’t stop the commanding woman. She used her plastered arm to conduct traffic of confused and lost kids and later a 340-child choir.
“You’d expect nothing less from her,” Giltner, who had worked alongside her for more than 35 years said.
Burrough, 77, passed away in her sleep on Dec. 17.
She mentored thousands of students in the nearly 40 years as chorale instructor at the Clover Park School District and Puyallup School District, and 15 years of judging contests and volunteering at her church’s music program.
In the classroom, she had a loud, larger-than-life presence. Giltner said “Peg” seemed hard and grouchy on the outside, but she was just a big teddy bear.
Burrough pulled others into her projects and had high standards. She wanted the best for her students and advocated on their behalf. Her choirs have been recognized nationally and regionally and received numerous awards.
“What was wonderful is that she didn’t do it at the expense of others,” Giltner said. “She was not that way. She would bring you with her to get ahead rather than step over you to get ahead.”
Burrough grew up in Longview, Washington, playing her piano at her father’s funeral home. She attended Whitworth College in Spokane, where she graduated with a music degree. She moved to Kansas for a few years before returning to Washington in 1965 to work at Clover Park School District. She spent 25 years conducting at Puyallup School District’s Aylen Junior High.
Her command of a chorale was remarkable.
She directed a boy’s chorale at a state conference about 20 years ago that was mesmerizing, Bruce Gutgesell recalled. It was impressive enough she had convinced a group of boys to commit to chorale at a young age, but the choreographed entrance was a vivid image for Gutgesell.
She and Burrough began working together while she was the President of the Washington Music Educators Association from 1984 to 1986. Burrough was inducted into the WMEA Hall of Fame and named the 1999 Educator of the Year.
“They marched up both sides without any guidance. The eye contact and focus between her and the boys — it was like that for 30 minutes,” he said. ”The performance was amazing. There was an eruption of applause.”
She got Gutgesell involved in the organization. He’s glad she saw something in him.
“She has confidence in others and gives opportunities to others. She saw something and took a chance on me, and I’ll forever be grateful ...,” Gutgesell said.
After retiring from education, Burrough began judging local and state competitions. She was known to pull performers or instructors aside to offer advice, Giltner said. She also became involved in her church’s music program. Pastor Sue Watkins of First Presbyterian Church of Puyallup said it was amazing the way Burrough connected with the children.
“Every child would come up to her on a Saturday and say, ‘Miss Peggy! Miss Peggy!’ And she had time for every last one of them,” Watkins said. “She made everyone feel like they were the most important person in her life.”
When Burrough wasn’t conducting the choir or playing piano, she would sit in the pews with the congregation. If she heard a good singing voice during the hymns, she would recruit that person for the “Praise Team.”
Burrough spent the day before her death at the church, playing piano. She was trying to recover her abilities after a stroke. Watkins said her passing was a shock to the community.
“We were all shocked and everybody I called just broke down in tears,” Watkins said. “She will truly be missed.”
Her memorial service is set for March 7th at Puyallup High auditorium at 2 pm and open to the public.
