Peggy Jean Burchard, 77, of Sycamore passed away on Thursday, October 1, 2020 surrounded by family.

She was born on March 27, 1943 in Walworth County Wisconsin to Melverne Harrison and Margaret (Strauss) Bartenbach.  She graduated from Badger High School in Lake Geneva in 1961. She married Verge Burchard on June 2,1965. She was the self-proclaimed "chief cook and bottle washer" of our home until 1980 when she began working at Ellison's bakery in Sycamore. In 1988, she started her career as a Public Service Representative at the DeKalb Driver's license facility and she thoroughly enjoyed serving the public with a smile for over 28 years. She always had a kind word, a warm smile and a big hug for nearly everyone she met. She was known as "mom", "grandma", or "aunty" to many. Peggy had a zest for life, an adventurous spirit and loved to travel the U.S.. In retirement, she and her partner had many adventures on their motorcycle including a trip to see the largest railroad yard in the U.S. with a "short detour" (of nearly 425 miles) to Pike's Peak and visits to some of the smallest towns and cities in America.

Bowling became a large part of Peggy's life in 1970 when she joined the Monday Washouts league at Welcome Lanes (now Mardi Gras) as her son entered kindergarten. During her time on the league she served on several committees and was elected president. In 1988, she started bowling on the Wednesday Nite Ladies league where she served as a director on the DeKalb Area Woman's Bowling Association's (DAWBC) board for ten years and was chosen to represent the DAWBA as a delegate to the National Meeting. She was also a delegate to the Illinois WBA. In 2018, the "planets aligned" and after 28 appearances at the USBC Women's Championships, she became the Amethyst Singles champion.

She is survived by two children, Randy (Tracy) Burchard of DeKalb and Trisha (Ron) Frayne of Woodland, CA; her partner of nearly eight years Carl Brantley; four grandchildren, Kyle James, Alex Burchard, Thomas Frayne and Blake Frayne; two sisters, Lois (Harrison) Larson and Carol (Harrison) Ross; one step-sister, Donna (Bartenbach) Perkins; five nieces, Meri (Scott Cox) Larson; Lynn (Raul Speelmans) Larson; Linda (Steve) Mikottis; Lisa (Phil Stern) Ross; Liann (Brian Propheter) Ross and one nephew Gregg (Beth Kaplan) Larson; and several cousins, great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Verge on January 2, 1987; her father-in-law Volney Burchard on January 10, 1987; her step-mother Betty Harrison; her step-father Jack Bartenbach; her maternal grandparents, Rudolph Strauss and Wilhelmina (Rieck) Strauss; her paternal grandparents, Eugene Harrison and Pearl (Udell) Harrison;  her sister-in-law Shirley Minnihan; her sister-in-law Patricia Dagg; her nephew Gary Dagg; her niece Melissa Larson; her brother-in-law Harvey (Lois) Larson, her brother-in-law Roy (Carol) Ross, several aunts and many dear cousins and other beloved family members.

A drive thru memorial procession to greet her family will be held on Friday, October 9th from 4:00-6:00 pm at the Mound Rest Cemetery on Route 38 in Cortland, IL.

A Celebration of Life will held at a later date due to the updated IDPH Covid restrictions.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Peggy's name to St. Jude's Children's Research ( stjude.org ) in care of the Butala Funeral Home and Crematory, 1405 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore, IL. 60178.

To sign the online guest book or share a special memory, go to www.ButalaFuneralHomes.com