PEGGY COLONELLO (MARGARET LETTY GILLARD)

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PEGGY COLONELLO
December 9, 1922 - April 15, 2020

Peggy (Margaret Letty Gillard) Colonello passed away peacefully, at the Golden West Centennial Lodge in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on the morning of April 15, 2020, at the age of 97 years.
Peggy was predeceased by her father and mother, Malcolm and Gladys Gillard; her sister, Lorna; and her husband, Alex, in 2013, after 64 years of marriage. She leaves behind her relative, Marie Hughes, of Trail, BC; and her dear friends, Margaret Homenuik, Garnet Burden, and Walter Silicz and their families.
Peggy grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Moose Jaw, and Kenora, before settling in Winnipeg, where she worked at TransCanada Airlines. She met Alex, and they were married at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club in 1949. She then worked as a secretary at Federated Cooperatives.
Peggy rode a streetcar with her golf clubs to Bourkevale Golf Course on Portage Avenue until 1948, when she joined Alex as a member of Elmhurst Golf and Country Club. They remained members of Elmhurst for over 60 years. Alex and Peggy built a house on the river in Woodhaven, where they resided until their move to Glendale Court in 2005. They were also members of the Monterey Golf and Country Club in California, where they spent many of their winter months.
Peggy was a competitive golfer, and volunteer extraordinaire. She was on three Manitoba Senior Provincial golf teams, and many winning Nassau teams for Elmhurst. Internationally, Peggy represented Canada in many capacities including captain, diplomat, and referee at golf events in Australia, New Zealand, Columbia, Hong Kong, Great Britain, and Switzerland. She was the President of the Manitoba Ladies Golf Association from 1974 to 1976, and President of the Canadian Ladies Golf Association from 1982 to 1983. Peggy chaired many provincial and national tournaments in Winnipeg in the 1980s, and in 1984, she was nominated for the Manitoba Sports Federation's Volunteer of the Year Award. In 1994, Peggy was inducted as a Builder into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. In 2003, she was an inaugural inductee in the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame.
In 2018, The Alex and Peggy Colonello Foundation was established to support junior golf in Manitoba. An endowment was created that will support, in perpetuity, the development of junior golf in Manitoba, the University of Manitoba Bison Golf Program, and the Golf In Schools program. The Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame will also receive support in recognizing and celebrating contributions to golf at the annual Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. Throughout her life, Peggy was a philanthropist and contributed to many charities. Her community focused gifting will continue through an endowment to the Winnipeg Foundation.
Many thanks to head nurse Wendy Southall and the wonderful staff on the 3rd floor of the Golden West Centennial Lodge for going above and beyond in both their care and compassion for Peggy.
A Celebration of Life for Peggy will occur at a date and place to be announced later this summer.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Winnipeg Salvation Army.

For those who wish to sign the online
Guest Book please visit www.chapellawn.ca

Chapel Lawn Funeral Home
204-885-9715

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 24, 2020, Apr 25, 2020