Dorothy "Peggy" Braat

March 27, 2018

She was born on June 17, 1923 in Hamilton, Ontario. She was a graduate of the Niagara Falls, New York High School and Hope College in Holland, Michigan. She started post-graduate work in Physiology at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. She married Ken Burke in the late 1940’s and had a son Colin and a daughter Anne before her husband’s death in 1954. She eventually remarried John Braat who had three children of his own (Doug, Jennifer, and Wendy) in 1956. She and John had twin boys Will and Steve to round out their combined families. In addition to being the Mother of seven children, Peggy was an active member of the community in Pearl River, NY, Montvale, NJ, and eventually Harvard, MA where she lived for 45 years. She was an active church member at her beloved St. Andrew’s, occasional substitute teacher, and member of PEO, garden club, book clubs, and the church choir. She was a docent at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard for many years. She was also a somewhat reluctant first mate but enthusiastic chef and bartender on many sailing trips. The common thread through all her activity was her social nature and ability to forge relationships that lasted for years. Peggy is survived by her daughters Wendy and Anne, sons Doug, Colin, Will, and Steve, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Peggy was preceded in death by her husband John and daughter Jennifer.