Peggy Jeanne Buck was born in Washington, D.C. on January 27, 1949, and passed away on September 8, 2026.
Peggy attended Stephen Decatur High School in Decatur, Illinois, graduating in 1967. After purchasing a brand-new Toyota Corolla in 1970, Peggy traveled west alone, ending up in Santa Monica, California. She worked for Pitney Bowes and lived through the San Fernando earthquake on February 9, 1971. After the earthquake, she moved back to Decatur.
She made numerous trips out west the next year to visit her friend, Debbie Jagt, who lived in Boulder, Colorado. In August of 1973, Peggy moved permanently to Colorado, settling in Nederland, where she worked as a baker, nanny, housekeeper, and Food Service Manager at the YCC Summer Camp/Forest Service Camp on Caribou Ranch. At the ranch, she honed her food service skills for two summers until Bill Halligan hired Chip and Peggy as a couple in 1978 to work at the Lazy H Guest Ranch in Allenspark.
Chip and Peggy were married on May 6, 1978, at the Allenspark Community Church in 36 inches of snow that fell the day before. On December 5, 1979, Chip and Peggy’s son Luke was born critically premature at Colorado General Hospital in Denver, Colorado. Peggy and Luke finally came home to Allenspark on March 19, 1980, although Luke was on oxygen for a year. While raising their son, Peggy did many jobs to help support the family.
In the mid-1980s, Peggy created her own job with Boulder County, helping and advocating for elders in Allenspark and the surrounding mountain communities of Nederland, Ward, Gold Hill, Raymond/Riverside, and Jamestown. The job she created is now known as Boulder County Aging Services.
Peggy is survived by her husband of 48 years, Ellsworth Luther Mills III (“Chip”), son E.L. Mills IV (“Luke”), his wife, Patricia (“Trish”) and their three children, E.L. Mills V (“Logan”), Grace, and Jack. In addition, she is survived by her brothers Steve Buck and his wife, Karen, of Longwood, Florida, and James Buck and his wife, Stephanie, of Norman, Oklahoma.
A Celebration of Life followed by a reception will be held at the Allenspark Community Church at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2026. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Peggy’s memory can be made to the American Lung Association or the Allenspark Community Church.
