Obituary of Peggy Dutton-Graber

Peggy M. Dutton-Graber was born to George and Margaret (Swafford) Dutton, July 24, 1953, in Evansville, Indiana.  She passed away peacefully on March 25, 2020 at Parker Adventist Hospital, surrounded by family, after battling cancer for several years.

Peggy was baptized into the Catholic Church as a young child and the church provided her strength and comfort throughout her life.  As a young child, her family moved to Rapid City, SD where she attended elementary school and high school.  She enjoyed the Black Hills with her family and the many friends she made throughout her childhood.  Peggy loved animals, especially horses. In Jr. High, her father purchased her first horse, named Tonka. Riding and caring for Tonka was one of her favorite pastimes, and nurtured a lifelong love for horses. When she turned 16, her dad gave her a Ford Mustang which enabled another favorite pastime of driving Rapid City’s “main drag” aka 8th Street, with her friends and kid-sister, Missy in the back seat.  She graduated from Rapid City Regional Hospital School of Nursing as a Registered Nurse in 1981, where she worked in the NICU for several years. 

Peggy married Gregg Graber, of Freeman, SD, on May 21, 1983, and were blessed with and raised three children - Katie, Matthew, and Jaxon. In June of 1985, Peggy and Gregg moved to the Denver, CO area, where she worked as a nurse for the next 33 years; she spent 25 years at Swedish Hospital in the NICU, and 8 years in Dialysis with DaVita. Peggy lived a life of service. Her purpose in life was caring for people, but it was more than a purpose, it was her calling. Peggy’s compassion radiated in her every action, and in every smile.

Nursing, as a profession, does not always provide “downtime.” However, with the free time she was able to scrounge up, she chose to spend with her family. Peggy loved spending her summers at the Baseball and Softball fields watching her children play ball. She loved when the leaves would change color in the fall, and her Friday evenings were spent watching her sons play football. Her winters were spent getting up early, turning on the Christmas tree, and watching the lights; it was her small moment of peace. She loved when the first signs of spring would come, and the grass would turn green. Later in life, she thoroughly enjoyed walking the puppies with her husband and daughter. Her Saturday evenings were spent watching movies with her husband, Gregg. Her most favorite time of all, was Sunday evening when she would have all her children home for dinner. Peggy was so much more than a mother and wife, but it was her most favorite role in life.

Peggy is survived by her husband, Gregg, daughter Katie, sons Matthew and Jaxon all of Parker, CO; sister Katie Spangler and her husband Michael of Dallas, TX; sister Melissa Poloncic and her husband John of Gillette, WY; brother John Dutton and his wife Ginny (Anderson) of Plano, TX; and many nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.

Preceding her in death were her parents, George H. and Margaret Dutton.

Funeral and memorial services are pending at this point in time due to the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns and will be announced and published by Ponderosa Valley Funerals of Parker, CO.  Website: www.ponderosavalleyfunerals.com.   

In lieu of flowers, the family would request donations to Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance (COCA), website: www.colo-ovariancancer.org,  Or any charity of your choice.