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<< Previous   of   Next >> Chris Goodenow / Enterprise  (click to enlarge) Edmonds City Council member Peggy Pritchard Olson listens at a City Council meeting on May 13, 2008.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 Peggy Pritchard Olson always put Edmonds first The councilwoman, who died Monday, is remembered as generous and hard-working. By Oscar Halpert Herald Writer EDMONDS — Peggy Pritchard Olson, a city councilwoman who announced in April 2008 that she had Lou Gehrig’s disease, died at her home Monday morning. She was 59. The daughter of Joel Pritchard, the late Republican state senator, lieutenant governor and congressman, Pritchard Olson was halfway through her second four-year council term, after running unopposed in 2007. She won election to her first term in November 2003. “From the time that she became involved in community service with the city, she was focused on all the 40,000 people in town,” Mayor Gary Haakenson said Monday. “Every decision she made was based on what was best for the people of Edmonds.” On her birthday in April 2008, Pritchard Olson learned she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, an incurable degenerative neurological disorder. As the disease progressed, Pritchard Olson gradually lost her ability to speak and was escorted by her husband, Norm, and helpers to council meetings in a wheelchair. “This makes you look at things differently,” she said shortly after her diagnosis. “Now it is all about family and friends.” Pritchard Olson continued to attend council meetings, missing only one before her death. At her last council meeting, Nov. 2, she presented written support for a proposal to have Snohomish County Fire District 1 provide the city’s fire and emergency medical services. “I kind of peered over and asked the caregivers that were there if she needed to go home,” Haakenson said. “They said, ‘Nope, she’s fine, she wants to stay.’ ” The mayor said he walked over to Pritchard Olson and said, “ ‘Well I want to go home.’ She looked at me and just laughed.” Pritchard Olson was active in community affairs for more than 20 years. She was a longtime member of Friends of the Edmonds Library and South Snohomish County Cities, comprised of elected leaders. “She helped me tremendously during my first couple months on the council,” said councilman Ron Wambolt. “She was always very generous because of her decades of political experience.” She served several years on the executive board of Mainstream Republicans of Washington, an organization of GOP moderates. In its early days, the group recruited candidates in the mold of her father Joel, whose political success came in part because of his ability to work with Democrats in forging state and federal policy. “Peggy really was carrying forward her father’s legacy of a moderate, inclusive Republican who operated in the political sphere in a very congenial way,” said Secretary of State Sam Reed, a founder and continuing leader of the group. “I really loved Peggy,” said Reed, a friend. “I’m deeply, deeply saddened to hear this news.” Library board member Marianne Burkhart worked with Pritichard Olson as a volunteer with a grassroots effort that opposed early plans to build sewer lines for King County’s wastewater treatment plant, Brightwater, in and around Edmonds. They’ve been friends since. “Peggy was just an outstanding human being,” she said. “All of her friends, when she was diagnosed with this, marveled at her attitude. I asked one time, ‘Peggy, how could you do this?’ She said, ‘That’s just how I was raised. My family always said, you just plug away, you can’t do anything about it so just accept it and get along with life.’ ” Herald reporter Jerry Cornfield contributed to this article. Oscar Halpert: 425-339-3429, ohalpert@heraldnet.com READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out Lou Gehrig's Disease Peggy was a great example of someone who continued to really LIVE despite the devistation of ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's disease). The ALS community will miss her. Please join us in finding a cure so no one else has to go through what Peggy did! www.alsa-ec.org Rebecca Moore | Nov 11, 2009 7:25 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) Ms Woo's comments reflect what is wrong with American politics these days and particularly in Washington. Her total lack of humanity and single-mindedness is appauling. I hope her neighbors in Edmonds read her post and realize just who they are living next to. Edmonds and Mrs Pritchard deserve better. paul goris | Nov 10, 2009 1:03 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal A Little Class Come on Ms. Woo. Even if you didn't agree with her politics, how about showing just a little class. I suspect Ms. Olson did more for her community in a month that you have done in your life. To trash her here is disrespectful, and quite frankly disgusting. Points Tofacts | Nov 10, 2009 2:19 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Peggy She wasn't really all that great of politician, so from a purely political standpoint it's simply not that great of a loss. We could have had the money from Brightwater in Edmonds, but thanks to her we don't. Furthermore, she was a Republican - so that more or less sums it up there. So there you have it. Bye Peg! See ya! Cindy San San Woo | Nov 10, 2009 12:15 am | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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