SARATOGA SPRINGS — Peggy Ann Mathiesen, 87, of Collins Terrace, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 7 at her residence, surrounded by her family.
Peggy is the daughter of the late Dr. Edward P. McCormack and Anna Cahill McCormack and was born and raised in Albany. She graduated from the Academy of the Holy Names and then went on the College of St. Rose, where she was chosen to be Rose Queen for the Class of 1949. 1949 was also the year that she met her future husband, Christian Mathiesen Jr., whom she married at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Albany on Jan.7, 1950.
In the spring of 1954, Peggy moved from her beloved Albany to Saratoga Springs where her husband took over a sales territory for the Tobin Packing Co. They raised their five children in their home on upper Fifth Avenue, where Peggy and Chris quickly made many friends in the neighborhood and throughout the community.
Peggy’s earliest social activities centered around a “knitting club” that she was asked to join soon after arriving in Saratoga Springs. Peggy and Chris also joined the Saratoga Golf and Polo Club, where they continued membership for over 50 years. She enjoyed playing golf and bridge with her husband and her friends.
While raising her five children and helping to raise her grandchildren, Peggy also volunteered her time for St. Clement School, the St. Clement’s Horse Show and St. Peter’s Academy. She was a longtime member of the Saratoga Hospital Flower and Fruit Mission and she was one of the founding members of Saratoga Vicariate Ladies of Charity. She was a former board member of the Hawley Foundation and spent many years providing rosary services to Wesley Nursing Home. She was a devout Roman Catholic who attended daily mass whenever possible. Peggy Ann will always be remembered as a bright, thoughtful and friendly lady.
In addition to her parents, Peggy Ann is predeceased by her two sisters, with whom she was very close; Betty McArdle of Albany and Alice Cooke of Monticello.
Survivors include her husband, Chris; her son, Dr. Christian E. Mathiesen and his wife Fran of Saratoga Springs, her four daughters, Pamela Pasciucco and her husband Dr. Peter Pasciucco of West Hartford, Connecticut, Mary Ellen Mathiesen-Tyrrell and her husband Bernie Tyrrell of Natick, Massachusetts, Anne Macrae and her husband Mike Macrae of Coral Gables, Florida, and Karen Tobin and her husband Craig Tobin of Lone Tree, Colorado; 12 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; her sisters-in law, Marcia Codling of Loudonville and Dianne Bartlett of Denver, CO and many nieces and nephews, whom she dearly loved.
