Margaret Ellen Bigham

Peggy was born Margaret Ellen Bigham on July 3, 1937 in St Louis, Missouri to Herbert DeSpain and Helen Burnette DeSpain. She went by Peggy and said the only time she was "Margaret" was when she was in trouble or someone was trying to sell her something. When speaking of her childhood she said, “I wasn’t scared of anybody. If I couldn’t beat them up, I could run faster than them.” Though she refrained from violence in her adult life, she continued to not be afraid of anybody and went on to lead and amazing life.

Peggy was first mentioned in the Denver Post when she was 15. An escaped murderer had stolen her father’s truck. Instead of waiting for the police, she jumped in her mother’s car and chased the fugitive up into the mountains. When he abandoned the truck she jumped in it and drove it back down the mountain. Unfortunately, she left the keys in her mother’s car. The convict then stole her mother's car and drove farther up the mountain. On her way down the mountain she passed her father, the sheriff and a truckload of armed men heading up the mountain after them. Her dad jumped in the truck and they continued up the mountain. As often happens on small Colorado, those old mining roads go up and up until it gets too steep for an ordinary car. That's where they found the guy, and in the battle to subdue him, he bit off a deputy's finger. They found out later he was an escaped convict, in jail for murdering his family. Whoever he was, Peggy Bigham was not going to let him steal her father's truck. As punishment, her mother said that she would never be allowed to drive their car again, a rule that remained in place until her mother's death almost 40 years later.

The next year she would graduate high school at 16 and start medical school, the youngest woman west of the Mississippi to be enrolled such a program that year. She would complete two years of medical school before joining the US Navy. During this time she was training to be a pilot. Always the daredevil she was proud to have jumped out of more than one airplane.

However, it ended up that besides being a courageous and amazing woman, Peggy had terrible depth perception. She crash-landed her first solo flight and sheered the wheels from the bottom of the plane. The Navy then made her a flight attendant on a General’s plane. This would have been a piece of cake for Peggy except that the Naval uniform for women. At the time this uniform included a pencil skirt and stiletto heels. Peggy Bigham could do a lot of things, but she could not walk in heels. Soon after she fell out of her heels and poured a pot of coffee on the General. Said General, scalded and angry, laid into Peggy about her incompetence. The General did not know that Peggy wasn’t afraid of much of anything and she responded to the General by waving her shoe in his face and challenging him to walk in the ridiculous shoes while wearing a pencil skirt.

A few days later Peggy was called in to her Commanding Officer’s office. She was expecting a demotion. “I don’t know what you said to him,” her CO said, “But he sent this.” The General had made an order that she was permitted to wear flat shoes. She was also transferred to become an Air Traffic Controller. She was stationed in Brownsville, Texas and it was here, on the radio, that she met her future husband, Air Force Staff Sergeant Arlan Keith Bigham. Before he landed he asked her over the radio to go on a date and they were married soon after. They remained together until his early death at age 55.

Following the Navy Peggy dealt blackjack at Harrah’s Reno and moved to the big money tables at Sahara Tahoe. On the big money tables Peggy took money from all of the big stars who played at the Casino. Englebert Humperdinck knew her by name. Elizabeth Montgomery and Bill Cosby lost money at Peggy’s table. Mr Cosby gave her $100 tip.

Using those tips Peggy bankrolled a family business. She and Arlan bought several Anchorage Yellow Cabs. Peggy did the books, engine work, body work and everything needed to keep a fleet of cars on the road in icy Anchorage. When the snow fell hard, it was not uncommon to see Peggy heading out in her massive truck with the wench, to pull taxies and strangers out of snowbanks.

In 1978 the family moved to Canby, Oregon where Peggy supported the family bird farm and began dealing cards and training dealers with Wild Bill’s Casino Company. She worked for Wild Bills for 35 years and ran parties for many of Portland’s most influential companies. During this time she was named the National Croupier of the Year. She was named Dealer of the Year so many times at Wild Bill’s that they named the award after her.

During her free time Peggy spent her life sewing and traveling. She sewed quilts for an unwed mother’s home for years and if Peggy heard someone had a baby, she showed up with a quilt. Many of her quilts she donated to the special education program at the Multnomah Education Service District. The quilts were the main fundraiser used to support the district’s Special Needs Prom. In 2014 she was honored by the district for her generosity and thoughtful work.

During her travels Peggy visited nearly every continent and made friends in countries all over the world. She prided herself in having visited some of the most important places on the globe. She zip-lined through the Amazon Rainforest, bungee-jumped off a bridge near the Great Wall of China in her 70’s, walked through Tutankhamun’s tomb, gazed upon the Taj Mahal, Big Ben, Angkor Wat, the Hermitage, the Colosseum and so many more places of wonder. She treasured the ability to see and learn and experience new things and even now she is on another great journey.

Peggy Bigham was an amazing woman but please do not feel sorrow for her. Her husband preceded her in death 30 years ago and she dreamed of him every night since. They are now back together and for that we should feel joy. Her sisters Pat Conners, Linda Larson and Doreen Larson were also there to greet her. She is survived by two sons, Steve and Brett, by her grandchildren Steven Troy Bigham and Elora Campsie and by her siblings Lee Balogh, Sharon Walters, Barbara Blair and Jim Duffy.

In lieu of flowers, please commit an act of kindness. Peggy would approve.