Margaret "Peggy" Schrick

Margaret “Peggy” Schrick, 73, of Olathe, KS, went to be with the Lord on Friday, October 8, 2010. Peggy was born May 31, 1937, to Stanley and Jane Compton in Philadelphia, PA, the second oldest of 12 children. She graduated from Bishop Ward High School and entered the religious community of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth as Sister Mary Therese, where she taught at elementary schools in Montana and Wyoming for 12 years. Peggy devoted the next 40 years of her life as a layperson in Christian ministry at Holy Cross Catholic Church and Church of the Nativity. Working at Nativity for the past 14 years, she finished her ministry as the Director of Christian Formation. She dedicated her life to her family and educating children and adults in the Catholic faith. Peggy impacted the lives of thousands and will be deeply missed. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Robert Compton; sister, Joan Vernon; and son-in-law, Joe Miro. Survivors include her husband of 40 years, Don; her children, Lynette Schrick Miro, DJ Schrick, Robert Schrick and wife Vicki, Joseph Schrick and wife Janet, Paul Schrick and wife Elizabeth; grandchildren, Derrik, Nick, Matthew, Julia, Jayson, Lillian, Benjamin; her siblings, Patricia Patterson, Rita Cunningham, Michele Murphy, Michael Compton, Terri Baugh, Barbara Compton, Cathy Ostermeyer, Elizabeth Doleshal, Geri Dannevik; and many nieces and nephews. A prayer service will be held Tuesday, October 12 at 5:30 p.m., followed by visitation from 6-8 p.m., at Church of the Nativity, 3800 W. 119th St, Leawood, KS. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, October 13, at Nativity, with burial following at Resurrection Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Paul’s Catholic Church Relocation Fund, Olathe, KS or Church of the Nativity Restoration Fund.

Remembering Peggy (From the Prayer Service)

Today, we celebrate the life of our mom, Peggy Schrick. She lived a life centered on God, family, children, and teaching her Catholic faith. She was preparing her entire time on earth to meet the Lord, living a Christ filled life that will forever be an example that we will strive to live up to. This evening, we would like to share some memories we have of our mom to help celebrate her life.

Many of my most vivid memories of her when I (Paul) was young was being her shadow at Holy Cross Catholic Church. She was always energetic, taking on any need that arose. I remember spending countless hours with her at church, singing in the Children’s choir, taking religious education classes that she often taught, and helping decorate the church for Christmas.

At home, when we were younger, I think about half of my mom’s days were taken up washing clothes and ironing. I wouldn’t be surprised if she even ironed our socks. In the summer, she used to run preschool in our garage for my older siblings and all of the neighborhood children.

As we grew older, she became a dedicated soccer mom. All 4 of my brothers and sisters, myself included, played soccer for a number of years in our youth. She would take us to each of our practices, go to every one of our games, and even coached several of our teams for a couple of years. We traveled all over the country for different soccer tournaments. It really didn’t matter what we were doing or how good or bad our team might be, she was always there to show her support and she sincerely enjoyed whatever game it was, because one of her children was playing on the team. Growing up, she was a second mom to many of the neighborhood kids. My parents even had an artificial turf soccer field installed in our backyard so we could play soccer with all of them and she could be involved and keep an eye on everyone.

When we were kids, she had a strict “no gun” policy. That sounds reasonable, but we are talking water guns. We had to quickly get over the shame of being forced to use shampoo bottles instead of water guns in those summer fights. When the neighborhood kids would come over to our house, they would have to check their guns at the door.

My mother loved the seasons and holidays. When you were at our house, you just had to look around to figure out what time of year it was. She would decorate our house at every opportunity, including St Patrick’s Day, Easter, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and pretty much everything else in between. From having 5 decorated Christmas trees around the house until late January, to a decked out Easter tree, or even all year “security lights” - which were really just Christmas lights on a bush in the front yard - she always knew how to make each season special.

My mom loved gardening and flowers. Much to her pleasure and hard work, our yard at the house that my family lived in for over 30 years, was slowly transformed into a park like botanical garden. With the help of my dad and my siblings, she would plant hundreds of flowers each year, constantly be trimming back the blooms, and taking care of her goldfish in the pond she loved. After we all left for college, each morning, she would go out to her pond and quietly pray, finding some peace in the busy life she lived. Every fall, she would bring all of the plants she could into our porch to save them just before the first freeze, because she just couldn’t bear to have that much of anything wasted.

She loved going to Tan-Tar-A at the Lake of the Ozarks and our family spent a number of vacations there. She was such a planner that she would make up a menu for each trip there to hang on the refrigerator so we would know what we were having for every meal. She would always make sure we would visit Ha-Ha-Tonka and walk on the seemingly endless boardwalk from the high cliffs down to lake level. She enjoyed being in the middle of nature, relaxing in the screened-in porch and being with her family, playing numerous games of pinochle with us.

Being the second oldest of 12 children, my mom helped raise her younger brothers and sisters until she left for the convent. She continued this focus on service throughout her life, helping at times of need to counsel those dealing with grief or just offer advice when guidance was needed in tough times. She helped care for my Grandma Jean and I learned so much from her in the way she selflessly served her mother. She would always try to make birthdays and events special for her sister Barbara and loved her very much. Her dedication to family extended to her in-laws as well. She helped care for them, visited them each weekend with Don when she was able to, and wanted to do everything she could to help make their long lives as happy and enjoyable as possible.

My mom and dad celebrated 40 years of marriage in July. Father Francis told us that she recently introduced my dad to a group of RCIA candidates as her angel. My mom and dad had a deep and amazing love for each other and offered a remarkable example of how to live a faith filled marriage. As we were looking through photos this past week, we came across a scrapbook my mother made during the early days of their courtship and marriage, before and after my dad left for the Vietnam war. Reading their love letters and seeing how my mother cared for him so deeply, gave him a reason to fight so hard during his 3 year recovery in the hospital. This dedication, love, and patience, showed us that from the very start of their relationship she was his angel too.

My mom loved her dog Rachael. I remember coming home the day my brother Rob took my mom to the animal shelter to get her and how Rachael was at her feet and barking and growling at anyone who dared get too close to my mom (including my dad) from that day forward. Rachael was so protective of Peggy that my daughter took to calling her “attack dog”.

My mom wanted to help us succeed in school in any way she could. I remember her typing papers late into the night for my siblings back when we had a typewriter and getting up at 5am to help when someone hadn’t finished an assignment for the day. She would always be involved at school in the PTA and was the first to volunteer to go along on a field trip or be a room mother, even if we didn’t think that was such a great thing at the time. She was extremely proud that every one of her children graduated from college and it was particularly fulfilling given her life’s focus.

She dedicated her entire career to educating children and adults. She began her ministry in the religious community as a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth where she taught students in Montana and Wyoming for 12 years. She influenced the lives of thousands of young people along the way and was especially good at working with children with special needs. She loved singing and wanted to share that passion with children. She led the Children’s Choir at Holy Cross for a number of years and directed numerous Christmas pageants at both Holy Cross and Nativity. Children and parents looked forward to these each December and still remember them fondly.

One of the greatest joys for our mother and major forces that kept her fighting and never giving up was having grandchildren enter her life. It did not matter if they were her biological grandchildren or not, she loved them just the same - although she wasn’t so sure about being referred to as grandma of my dog.

She said that any difficult day she might be having would be made so much better with a visit by her grandchildren. She loved feeding them, reading to them, and spoiling each one of them every chance she had. As two of her grandkids grew older, she became a devoted football and track grandmother, going to every game and event she could to cheer on her grandkids that she loved so much. Each of us are so glad to have had our children get to know their Grandma Peggy. I know she loves each of them and will look down upon them from Heaven to protect and guide them as they grow up.

Even with her failing health, she refused to quit her position at Church of the Nativity as Director of Christian Formation that required many late nights. Working in the church with Religious Education, RCIA, and teaching the sacraments is what she loved. She told us and her doctors that she didn’t want to be stuck at home when what kept her going, was continuing her ministry in the church.

Here are some thoughts that several of her co-workers shared with us:

Peggy was such a kind person. Her face would light up a room when she giggled her girlish laugh when she got tickled about something.

Peggy radiated faith in many ways, one of her ways was by lighting candles. Whenever someone was sick or needing special prayers, a candle always burned at her desk.

Peggy was so truly dedicated to the Church and to her family. And she always lit up anytime you would ask her about her children and grandchildren. Despite several years of pain, she remained true to her commitment to teach the Catholic faith. She was a teacher who affects eternity.

Peggy was so full of faith yet very down to earth in her approach to life. Through the years, those who worked with her came to know her as a friend. She was always interested in your life, too and if you had a problem it became her problem! Peggy was a mentor and a spiritual mother to so many!

She was never ready to quit fighting her battle with cancer. Peggy has left big shoes to try and fill but we know that she is still with us in a very special way. She wants us to do our jobs well so the parents and children continue to get all they need on their faith journeys.

My mom showed each one of us how to treat a terminal diagnosis with courage, strength, and dignity. She refused to take the news of cancer as the end. It was the beginning of a new journey that she accepted as her cross, fighting the disease with all of her might, without complaining about all she had to go through for over 5 years.

She said during a difficult moment recently, “I don’t know why I’m crying. This is going to be the happiest day of my life.” Well, I’m sure she is experiencing that happiness now, being greeted by the Lord in Heaven. Through the rest of my life, the lives of my family, and the thousands of lives she touched, she will continue to have a major impact and will be an example of what it means to truly love the Lord and to live a Christ centered life.

All of you who were able to help my mom, my dad, and our family, with this final difficult stretch, we thank you. We express gratitude to her doctors, nurses, hospice and the Sister Servants of Mary for the compassionate care that they gave her. We thank those who helped get her to appointments, those who visited her, offered their prayers and support, and friends and family who helped care for her. We thank the Nativity staff for always being supportive and flexible to allow her to fight this battle while continuing to do what she loved so much. Thank you to all of you for being an important part of her life!

Mom, we will miss you, and love you always.