Margaret Susan "Peggy Sue" (Edelblute) Ables was born July 17, 1942 in Topeka, KS. She rode off into her final sunset after a valiant battle with Alzheimer's on Thursday, July 14, 2022 at Monument Health Home Plus Hospice House, three days shy of her 80th birthday.
She was the first of three children born to James Richard Edelblute and Margaret Marie (Talbot) Edelblute. Her dad was a pharmacist and a medic in World War II. Her mother had a degree in English and took care of the home and family.
Peggy's childhood was a mixture of tragedy and triumph. At the age of 13, she lost her mother, and at the age of 17 she lost her father, leaving her to watch over her younger brother Dick and younger sister Sally. It was very important to her to be able to keep the three of them together and for her siblings to further their education, which they did. Dick graduated from the University of Kansas pharmaceutical school, and Sally graduated from Stormont Vail as a registered nurse.
As a teenager to make money, she broke horses to ride, and trained barrel horses at the Shawnee Co. Fairgrounds in Topeka. She also competed in barrel racing.
After graduating from Topeka High School, Peggy went straight to work, with a determination to follow her passions, and to start on a path of life-long learning.
Soon after high school, she met and was married to Emmett Ables, from 1962-1979. Emmett had lost his father at the age of 18, giving them in common the unfortunate tragedy of losing a parent too early in life.
The Cuthbert family, on her maternal side, were prolific stone masons in the state of Kansas, so she always said she came by her interest in construction naturally. Peggy and Emmett together had an excavating company, trucking company, and rock quarries. In her spare time, she raised quarter horses, Hereford cattle and German shepherd dogs. She also formed the country music band "Headin' West," singing lead vocals and playing guitar. For over 20 years, the band played regularly at VFW's, street dances, wedding dances and other private parties.
In the 1980s, Peggy began the next phase of her construction career in estimating and management. She worked as an electrical estimator for Amelco Electric, in Topeka. Then moved on to be an estimator, project manager, and eventually ran a satellite operation for Andrews & Walshire asphalt construction company of Topeka. All of the positions were ground breaking for a woman to occupy at that time.
In 1996, Peggy moved to Spearfish to be closer to her daughter's family.
She was the executive director at the High Plains Western Heritage Center from 2001 – 2016. It was a perfect fit with her life-long interests in western history, rodeo, art and country music.
During her tenure, while recording the history of the ranch families in the area, she also had a knack of making the Heritage Center a social gathering spot. She spearheaded the nomination and induction of two local men, James "Russ" Madison Jr. (2012) and Jerry Olson (2015) into the National Cowboy Heritage Center and Museum's Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. She also facilitated the expansion of the northern leg of The Great Western Cattle Trail national history and tourism project, which placed its first marker in South Dakota at the Heritage Center in 2014. She was deeply honored to receive the prestigious 2016 Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo "Tom Didier Pioneer Award" in recognition of her hard work to preserve the history of the American cowboy and western history in the area.
Thankful for having shared in her life are her only child, Letti Lister, son-in-law Scott, grandson Christopher and granddaughter Madiera, all of Spearfish; her sister Sally Short and brother-in-law Richard, Topeka, KS; nephew Rick and Lori Vorhies and their family, Olathe, KS. She was proceeded in death by her mother, father and brother.
At Peggy's request, there will not be a funeral service, but instead a private Celebration of Life at a later date. Her cremains will be inurned in the rolling grassy plains of Kansas.
If you would like to honor her memory, please consider a donation in her name to Feeding South Dakota.org (on-line or by phone); or American Brain Foundation.org (support disease research); or Monument Health Hospice Care or Hospice House (on-line, "donate" button). Cards may be sent to P.O. Box 663, Spearfish, SD 57783.
She was the first of three children born to James Richard Edelblute and Margaret Marie (Talbot) Edelblute. Her dad was a pharmacist and a medic in World War II. Her mother had a degree in English and took care of the home and family.
Peggy's childhood was a mixture of tragedy and triumph. At the age of 13, she lost her mother, and at the age of 17 she lost her father, leaving her to watch over her younger brother Dick and younger sister Sally. It was very important to her to be able to keep the three of them together and for her siblings to further their education, which they did. Dick graduated from the University of Kansas pharmaceutical school, and Sally graduated from Stormont Vail as a registered nurse.
As a teenager to make money, she broke horses to ride, and trained barrel horses at the Shawnee Co. Fairgrounds in Topeka. She also competed in barrel racing.
After graduating from Topeka High School, Peggy went straight to work, with a determination to follow her passions, and to start on a path of life-long learning.
Soon after high school, she met and was married to Emmett Ables, from 1962-1979. Emmett had lost his father at the age of 18, giving them in common the unfortunate tragedy of losing a parent too early in life.
The Cuthbert family, on her maternal side, were prolific stone masons in the state of Kansas, so she always said she came by her interest in construction naturally. Peggy and Emmett together had an excavating company, trucking company, and rock quarries. In her spare time, she raised quarter horses, Hereford cattle and German shepherd dogs. She also formed the country music band "Headin' West," singing lead vocals and playing guitar. For over 20 years, the band played regularly at VFW's, street dances, wedding dances and other private parties.
In the 1980s, Peggy began the next phase of her construction career in estimating and management. She worked as an electrical estimator for Amelco Electric, in Topeka. Then moved on to be an estimator, project manager, and eventually ran a satellite operation for Andrews & Walshire asphalt construction company of Topeka. All of the positions were ground breaking for a woman to occupy at that time.
In 1996, Peggy moved to Spearfish to be closer to her daughter's family.
She was the executive director at the High Plains Western Heritage Center from 2001 – 2016. It was a perfect fit with her life-long interests in western history, rodeo, art and country music.
During her tenure, while recording the history of the ranch families in the area, she also had a knack of making the Heritage Center a social gathering spot. She spearheaded the nomination and induction of two local men, James "Russ" Madison Jr. (2012) and Jerry Olson (2015) into the National Cowboy Heritage Center and Museum's Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. She also facilitated the expansion of the northern leg of The Great Western Cattle Trail national history and tourism project, which placed its first marker in South Dakota at the Heritage Center in 2014. She was deeply honored to receive the prestigious 2016 Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo "Tom Didier Pioneer Award" in recognition of her hard work to preserve the history of the American cowboy and western history in the area.
Thankful for having shared in her life are her only child, Letti Lister, son-in-law Scott, grandson Christopher and granddaughter Madiera, all of Spearfish; her sister Sally Short and brother-in-law Richard, Topeka, KS; nephew Rick and Lori Vorhies and their family, Olathe, KS. She was proceeded in death by her mother, father and brother.
At Peggy's request, there will not be a funeral service, but instead a private Celebration of Life at a later date. Her cremains will be inurned in the rolling grassy plains of Kansas.
If you would like to honor her memory, please consider a donation in her name to Feeding South Dakota.org (on-line or by phone); or American Brain Foundation.org (support disease research); or Monument Health Hospice Care or Hospice House (on-line, "donate" button). Cards may be sent to P.O. Box 663, Spearfish, SD 57783.
Margaret Susan "Peggy Sue" (Edelblute) Ables was born July 17, 1942 in Topeka, KS. She rode off into her final sunset after a valiant battle with Alzheimer's on Thursday, July 14, 2022 at Monument Health Home Plus Hospice House, three days shy of her 80th birthday.
She was the first of three children born to James Richard Edelblute and Margaret Marie (Talbot) Edelblute. Her dad was a pharmacist and a medic in World War II. Her mother had a degree in English and took care of the home and family.
Peggy's childhood was a mixture of tragedy and triumph. At the age of 13, she lost her mother, and at the age of 17 she lost her father, leaving her to watch over her younger brother Dick and younger sister Sally. It was very important to her to be able to keep the three of them together and for her siblings to further their education, which they did. Dick graduated from the University of Kansas pharmaceutical school, and Sally graduated from Stormont Vail as a registered nurse.
As a teenager to make money, she broke horses to ride, and trained barrel horses at the Shawnee Co. Fairgrounds in Topeka. She also competed in barrel racing.
After graduating from Topeka High School, Peggy went straight to work, with a determination to follow her passions, and to start on a path of life-long learning.
Soon after high school, she met and was married to Emmett Ables, from 1962-1979. Emmett had lost his father at the age of 18, giving them in common the unfortunate tragedy of losing a parent too early in life.
The Cuthbert family, on her maternal side, were prolific stone masons in the state of Kansas, so she always said she came by her interest in construction naturally. Peggy and Emmett together had an excavating company, trucking company, and rock quarries. In her spare time, she raised quarter horses, Hereford cattle and German shepherd dogs. She also formed the country music band "Headin' West," singing lead vocals and playing guitar. For over 20 years, the band played regularly at VFW's, street dances, wedding dances and other private parties.
In the 1980s, Peggy began the next phase of her construction career in estimating and management. She worked as an electrical estimator for Amelco Electric, in Topeka. Then moved on to be an estimator, project manager, and eventually ran a satellite operation for Andrews & Walshire asphalt construction company of Topeka. All of the positions were ground breaking for a woman to occupy at that time.
In 1996, Peggy moved to Spearfish to be closer to her daughter's family.
She was the executive director at the High Plains Western Heritage Center from 2001 – 2016. It was a perfect fit with her life-long interests in western history, rodeo, art and country music.
During her tenure, while recording the history of the ranch families in the area, she also had a knack of making the Heritage Center a social gathering spot. She spearheaded the nomination and induction of two local men, James "Russ" Madison Jr. (2012) and Jerry Olson (2015) into the National Cowboy Heritage Center and Museum's Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. She also facilitated the expansion of the northern leg of The Great Western Cattle Trail national history and tourism project, which placed its first marker in South Dakota at the Heritage Center in 2014. She was deeply honored to receive the prestigious 2016 Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo "Tom Didier Pioneer Award" in recognition of her hard work to preserve the history of the American cowboy and western history in the area.
Thankful for having shared in her life are her only child, Letti Lister, son-in-law Scott, grandson Christopher and granddaughter Madiera, all of Spearfish; her sister Sally Short and brother-in-law Richard, Topeka, KS; nephew Rick and Lori Vorhies and their family, Olathe, KS. She was proceeded in death by her mother, father and brother.
At Peggy's request, there will not be a funeral service, but instead a private Celebration of Life at a later date. Her cremains will be inurned in the rolling grassy plains of Kansas.
If you would like to honor her memory, please consider a donation in her name to Feeding South Dakota.org (on-line or by phone); or American Brain Foundation.org (support disease research); or Monument Health Hospice Care or Hospice House (on-line, "donate" button). Cards may be sent to P.O. Box 663, Spearfish, SD 57783.
She was the first of three children born to James Richard Edelblute and Margaret Marie (Talbot) Edelblute. Her dad was a pharmacist and a medic in World War II. Her mother had a degree in English and took care of the home and family.
Peggy's childhood was a mixture of tragedy and triumph. At the age of 13, she lost her mother, and at the age of 17 she lost her father, leaving her to watch over her younger brother Dick and younger sister Sally. It was very important to her to be able to keep the three of them together and for her siblings to further their education, which they did. Dick graduated from the University of Kansas pharmaceutical school, and Sally graduated from Stormont Vail as a registered nurse.
As a teenager to make money, she broke horses to ride, and trained barrel horses at the Shawnee Co. Fairgrounds in Topeka. She also competed in barrel racing.
After graduating from Topeka High School, Peggy went straight to work, with a determination to follow her passions, and to start on a path of life-long learning.
Soon after high school, she met and was married to Emmett Ables, from 1962-1979. Emmett had lost his father at the age of 18, giving them in common the unfortunate tragedy of losing a parent too early in life.
The Cuthbert family, on her maternal side, were prolific stone masons in the state of Kansas, so she always said she came by her interest in construction naturally. Peggy and Emmett together had an excavating company, trucking company, and rock quarries. In her spare time, she raised quarter horses, Hereford cattle and German shepherd dogs. She also formed the country music band "Headin' West," singing lead vocals and playing guitar. For over 20 years, the band played regularly at VFW's, street dances, wedding dances and other private parties.
In the 1980s, Peggy began the next phase of her construction career in estimating and management. She worked as an electrical estimator for Amelco Electric, in Topeka. Then moved on to be an estimator, project manager, and eventually ran a satellite operation for Andrews & Walshire asphalt construction company of Topeka. All of the positions were ground breaking for a woman to occupy at that time.
In 1996, Peggy moved to Spearfish to be closer to her daughter's family.
She was the executive director at the High Plains Western Heritage Center from 2001 – 2016. It was a perfect fit with her life-long interests in western history, rodeo, art and country music.
During her tenure, while recording the history of the ranch families in the area, she also had a knack of making the Heritage Center a social gathering spot. She spearheaded the nomination and induction of two local men, James "Russ" Madison Jr. (2012) and Jerry Olson (2015) into the National Cowboy Heritage Center and Museum's Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. She also facilitated the expansion of the northern leg of The Great Western Cattle Trail national history and tourism project, which placed its first marker in South Dakota at the Heritage Center in 2014. She was deeply honored to receive the prestigious 2016 Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo "Tom Didier Pioneer Award" in recognition of her hard work to preserve the history of the American cowboy and western history in the area.
Thankful for having shared in her life are her only child, Letti Lister, son-in-law Scott, grandson Christopher and granddaughter Madiera, all of Spearfish; her sister Sally Short and brother-in-law Richard, Topeka, KS; nephew Rick and Lori Vorhies and their family, Olathe, KS. She was proceeded in death by her mother, father and brother.
At Peggy's request, there will not be a funeral service, but instead a private Celebration of Life at a later date. Her cremains will be inurned in the rolling grassy plains of Kansas.
If you would like to honor her memory, please consider a donation in her name to Feeding South Dakota.org (on-line or by phone); or American Brain Foundation.org (support disease research); or Monument Health Hospice Care or Hospice House (on-line, "donate" button). Cards may be sent to P.O. Box 663, Spearfish, SD 57783.
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