[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S5693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING PEGGY BURGIN

 Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, I wish to commemorate the life of a 
very special resident of my home State of Alaska, Peggy Burgin.
  Mrs. Burgin was the embodiment of a true Alaskan. While living in 
Alaska, she witnessed such historical events as the 1964 earthquake and 
the construction of the Trans-Alaska pipeline. Mrs. Burgin devoted much 
of her life to volunteering for many community groups. She leaves 
behind many friends who are grateful to have known this remarkable 
woman.
  On behalf of her family and her many friends, I ask today we honor 
Peggy Burgin's memory. I ask that her obituary, published May 12, 2009, 
in the Anchorage Daily News, be printed in the Record.
  The information follows:

       [From the Anchorage Daily News, May 12, 2009]

       Peggy Arlene Burgin, 89, died peacefully May 5, 2009, at 
     Alaska Regional Hospital, where she received exceptional 
     loving care from the entire staff. A celebration of life is 
     being planned for June. Born Aug. 16, 1919, in Bellingham, 
     Wash., to Michael and Minnie Burns, she worked from an early 
     age to help her widowed mother and younger brother. She went 
     to business college, was president of the Alpha Chapter of 
     Beta Sigma Phi sorority and was a lifelong Democrat. She 
     moved to Anchorage in July 1947 to marry Lee Morrow, a 
     veteran Air Force pilot with postwar Alaska dreams. Ten 
     months later the small plane he was co-piloting disappeared 
     in the Susitna Valley and was never recovered. Shaken, she 
     returned briefly to Washington, but her love for Alaska drew 
     her right back. Working for an air cargo firm and later First 
     National Bank of Anchorage, she made an impact as a single 
     determined woman in a rough young town. She met and married 
     another Alaska enthusiast, Fred Burgin, and together with 
     their children, Salli, Jim and Judi, they experienced many 
     adventures including the 1964 earthquake, pipeline 
     construction and homesteading in Point MacKenzie. There she 
     homeschooled the kids, shot a bear that tried to join them in 
     the cabin and ran the homestead while Fred was away at 
     construction jobs.
       As a Teamster, Peggy was hired to start the Teamster Credit 
     Union (now Denali Alaskan Federal Credit Union), where she 
     achieved her goal of helping members start businesses and buy 
     homes. Politically involved, both Peggy and Fred received 
     their territorial voter registrations from Senator E.L. 
     ``Bob'' Bartlett and often canceled each other's vote. Peggy 
     was one of the founding members of the Bartlett Democratic 
     Club, rarely missing the weekly meetings. She chaired and 
     worked on many campaigns and was a delegate for Alaska at 
     Clinton's presidential caucus.
       Although busy with career and family, she was the ultimate 
     volunteer and contributor with this partial list of 
     organizations that benefited from her enthusiasm: Inlet View 
     PTA, Alaska Regional Hospital Auxilliary, Alaska Native 
     Hospital gift shop, Anchorage Senior Activity Center, 
     Anchorage Unitarian Fellowship, Teamster 959 Retirees, 
     Alaskan Commission on Aging, Pioneers of Alaska, STAR, 
     Victims for Justice, Blood Bank of Alaska, women's equality 
     groups and several credit unions. Peggy was a devoted friend 
     to people of all ages and walks of life, always willing to 
     give kids a hand up or a haven. She valued education, writing 
     and courtesy and was described by one friend as one of the 
     last true pioneer ladies--elegant, gracious, generous and as 
     tough as nails. She loved traveling to Hawaii, Washington and 
     New York and even toured China. She enjoyed staying connected 
     to her myriad friends, watching Alaska politics on cable and 
     getting her hair ``fluffed'' (her word) at Trendsetters.
       Peggy was predeceased by her daughter Judi, and her 
     husbands, Lee and Fred. She is survived by her son and 
     daughter-in-law, Jim Burgin and Janice Ray, daughter, Salli 
     Burgin; grandchildren, Erin Malone (Jason Dallman), Devin 
     Malone, Dante Modaffari, and Bryant Burgin; great-
     granddaughters, Ava and Lena Malone-Dallman, all of Alaska 
     and Washington; and by her brother, Robert Burns and family 
     of Idaho. The family wishes to thank Peggy's doctors, 
     Kathleen Case and Vernon Cates, for her many years of 
     energetic health.

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