Margaret Ann 'Peggy' Nordberg

MARENISCO, Mich. - Margaret Ann (MacLeod) "Peggy" Nordberg, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, while the dew was still on the roses at the Howard Young Hospital. Peggy was born on Feb. 11, 1938, to Frances MacLeod.

She graduated from the Roosevelt School in Marenisco. During high school she worked part-time as a telephone operator in Marenisco. Following high school, she worked at the White Pine copper mine and Kimberly Clark in Marenisco. There she met her soon to be husband John "Jack" Nordberg. They married in 1957. She was a wife and mother for many joyous years until the end.

She began working again at Gogebic Lodge under her cooking mentor, Ruth Cordy. Her family lived and worked there for a couple years, which brought her lots of happy memories and friendships. She also worked for the Indianhead Mountain Ski Resort. She loved cooking and baking which brought her to the Country Cottage Restaurant in Marenisco. She served many great meals with Pat and Maggie, and made lots of new friends too! Next, she worked at the Lac Vieux Desert Casino as a cook and at the nutritional site until she retired.

Peggy served on the Marenisco School Board for many years. She also was a very active 4-H leader and enjoyed cooking, crafting and nature activities with her student members.

As a young child she recalled riding with her Pa in the Standard Oil truck to all the logging camps on the east shore of Lake Gogebic. She talked about the large, fresh cookies she would get from the camp cooks. Peggy played cards with the older generation in town. Her memories of picking washtubs full of berries sparked her to take her own children berry picking. She used to go with Pa, Ma, Myrtle Russel and Madge Ormes. Another memorable time for Peggy was having routine picnics on the cemetery stone wall with her cousins, Jackie, Barbara and Peter. This is something she also did with her children. Driving around with Carol Bovee and their mothers after they got home from work was a big treat too. Sometimes they even went to Winegar for "chicken gizzards". Her high school friends were Betty Mae Jericho, Katherine Obiden and Diane Noel.

She was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Marenisco and the Assembly of God Church in Ironwood. In her final thoughts, Peggy said, "No tears, there is a time to be born and a time to die".

She was the best mom a kid could ask for. All summer, she kept her children busy with summer fun. They swam, fished every small lake and camped. She enjoyed smelting with them at Little Girl's Point, and even brought a huge iron frying pan to cook the smelt right on the shoreline. She took her kids partridge hunting with Hellen Allen and her boys, and swimming and picnicking with the Gagnon family. She was known for her great picnic lunch. Peggy loved to go mushroom picking and she took her kids when the stump mushrooms and morels were out. The "forty" on the east shore of Lake Gogebic was a place she enjoyed too. She used to take the kids out to meet their dad and bring a huge, home cooked meal.

Peggy used to invite the Milltowners team and cheerleaders over for homemade pizza after a game or send snacks on the bus for a long ride. She loved to rescue turtles and join the fun on "gate night". Playing pranks was a crazy love she passed on to her children. She is almost famous for her Christmas cookies which she shared with everyone. Recently she became a "snoop sister", with her friend, Early Ryskey.

Some of the gifts she has passed on to her family are: think of others, be thoughtful, help those who need help, laugh, have fun, joke, play pranks, bring food to grieving families, enjoy nature, be faithful, be a good friend, enjoy good homemade food, take pride in what you do, keep your promises and enjoy music. She believed in family, faith, friends and food. Jesus is getting fat because she is in the kitchen.

Peggy is survived by her four children, Jackie Nordberg (Mike Schmidt) Charles, David (Janice) Nordberg, Alan Nordberg and Holli (Greg) Tooke.

She has seven grandchildren, Adam (Julie) Nordberg, Bethany (Jeff) Anderson, Colleen (Mike) Granato, Dustin Nordberg, Jessie (Nick) Heise, Zachary Nordberg and Suzanne Nordberg. She was blessed with 13 great-grandchildren, Trevor, Landon, Ally, Grant, Ryder, Camryn, Bryce, Grace, Grady, Wyatt, McCoy, Brody and Gabriel. She is also survived by her numerous cousins; and her sisters in law, Marian (Carl), Norma (Eric), Mack Nordberg and Patsy (nee Nordberg) (John) Dow.

She is preceded in death by her husband, John; mother, Frances MacLeod; grandparents, Alex and Rose MacLeod; uncle, John; and cousins, Barbara, Peter, Wyllis, Mary Lou and Peggy.

In her later years she enjoyed time with her special friends, Earla, the Loops, Maggie, cousin Dorothy, Mike, Jeanette and Valerie.

She also spent months at a time visiting her daughter in Alaska, making her own "bonus" family there. She always bid farewell to them with, "Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be back".

She treasured her church family also. They offered so much support her throughout the years. Peggy always told family, "Tomorrow is never promised," and "One day at a time."

Final committal will be at a later date. She will be buried next to her mother at the Marenisco Cemetery.

Jerald Rocco, owner and manager of Lakeside Memorial Chapel, Inc., in Wakefield, assisted the family with arrangements.