Margaret “Peggy” Gilbert Pruyne passed away at the age of 83 in her home on Monday, August 7, 2023, surrounded by loved ones. Born in Pittsfield on February 14, 1940, the daughter of the late Edward Gilbert and Margaret Hopper Gilbert, she attended St. Joseph High School in Pittsfield, but graduated from Amherst Regional High School in 1957. She attended UMASS Amherst for one year and then married and started a family.
She was married 65 years to Kermit K. Pruyne, a native of Pittsfield, MA, who graduated UMASS School of Management and became a commissioned officer in the US Air Force. Having moved around the country and West Germany as a military wife, Peggy was a homemaker and mother who loved her many family cats over the years and enjoyed reading, fabric crafts, collecting mementos of her travels, and returning home to Massachusetts often to reconnect with her family.
At 39 years old, Peggy attended Holyoke Community College to be a Medical Records Technician. Kermit got stationed in West Germany and she did not finish, but the clinic on base felt she was skilled, and she became a Medical Records Technician there. When Kermit retired to the Berkshires, she was too young to retire and became a Data Entry Clerk for KB Toys Headquarters in Pittsfield for 15 years.
Margaret is survived by her husband Kermit K. Pruyne, LT Col USAF, Ret., two children, Peter D. Pruyne and Kathryn Pruyne Gallison, and son-in-law, Christian Gallison. There are three grandchildren, Duncan Pruyne, Jocelyn Gallison, and Specialist Geoffrey Gallison, US Army. She also leaves behind her sister, Katherine Gilbert Keydel and brother-in-law, Eric Keydel. There are many extended family members for whom she cared deeply. Present at her death was Kermit’s niece, Carolyn Pruyne, who used her CNA skills and played a large part in Margaret’s care during her short illness. She and Kermit want it known that her passing was painless and peaceful.
Funeral Notice:
A celebration of Peggy’s life will be Tuesday, August 15, 2023, from 3 pm to 5 pm at the Dwyer-Wellington Funeral Home in Pittsfield, at 220 East Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201. She loved flowers and cats. Flowers are welcome, but if a donation is preferred, please make them to the Berkshire Humane Society, 214 Barker Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Please visit www.dwyeruneral.com to leave condolences and remembrances.
Published by The Berkshire Eagle on Aug. 12, 2023.