Peregrine Warfield Spiegel (nee Barclay) Humanist, artisan, scholar, animal lover, athlete, parish member, progressive, loyal friend, beloved wife, mother and grandmother. These words describe attributes of Peregrine Warfield Spiegel (nee Barclay) of Hanover, New Hampshire who passed away on October 3rd, 2024, after bravely living with the effects of Parkinson’s Disease the latter few years of her life.

Peregrine was born in Ruxton, Maryland in 1935 to Hugh and Elsie Barclay (nee Warfield). She grew up as a true tomboy with her beloved brother McKee, and down the street from her first cousins Kate and Ann, as well as her best friend Frannie. Together they enjoyed neighborhood adventures, tennis, bike rides, picnics, and endless explorations of the streams and woods of rural Maryland. As teenagers they endured cotillion and etiquette classes, but claimed that during the ensuing debutante events, fun was to be had, Peregrine’s spirit however, pulled her more toward pursuits in nature and travel than society. She described her early childhood as difficult, as her father was away fighting in WW2, and her mother was working hard to hold their life together at home, but her close friendships, her love of school, and the additional support and care of her Grandmother Florence Warfield, provided her a loving and safe environment. Peregrine attended The Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, MD where she was a dedicated scholar who was voted Head Girl her senior year, serving as captain of the basketball, field hockey, tennis and swim teams. Peregrine’s scholastic and athletic abilities led to a full scholarship to Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley MA, where she studied history and graduated in the class of 1958. After a summer spent in Europe that included being presented to Queen Elizabeth II, frolicking in London, and hitchhiking through the British Isles and central Europe, Peregrine moved to Boston to pursue a Master’s Degree at Simmons College School of Social Work, graduating in 1960. Peregrine would continue to earn graduate degrees later in life including a Masters Degree in 1995 from the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences, now the Dartmouth Institute, as well as a Degree in Divinity from the College of the South in 2001.

In 1960, Peregrine met her future husband, Peter, then a Harvard medical student, at the coffee shop of Boston Children’s Hospital while writing up a case and enjoying her favorite treat, a chocolate sundae. Peregrine accepted Peter’s request to sit next to her in the near empty restaurant, and that was the beginning of their 64-year relationship. Their courtship consisted of dinners, sailing and tennis dates in the city, as well as weekends enjoying rock climbing, hiking and skiing in the White Mountains and at the Dartmouth Skiway, often visiting with Hanover friends. They were married in September 1961 in a small Chapel in Marlboro NH, while Peter was an intern at the Boston City Hospital and as Peregrine started her career as a social worker at the Mass General Hospital. The couple remained in Boston for four years during Peter’s residency and fellowship in Radiology. The Vietnam War brought them to Portsmouth, VA, while he served as a Radiologist in the US Navy. During this time their two sons, Rolfe and Eric, were born. On completion of two years of duty they moved to Hanover, NH in 1968 where Peter had accepted a position with the Hitchcock Clinic, and they welcomed their daughter Greta soon after. Peregrine would spend the next decades navigating life in rural New Hampshire while raising children on a small working farm. She wrangled kids and animals, planted and tended a large garden, lovingly raised numerous dogs and their offspring including six springer spaniels, and she loved her kitty cats with a whole heart. She spun wool, designed and wove blankets and rugs on her loom, knit woolens, stood on the sidelines of her children’s innumerable ski meets and soccer games, baked legendary raisin bread and pecan pumpkin pies, and later, in 1980, built along with her family, the ecological designed timber home on Moose Mountain where she would live for the rest of her life.

Peregrine managed these pursuits while also working a variety of fulfilling jobs outside the home including: photojournalist, a fulfilling private practice as a clinical social worker, adjunct instructor at Dartmouth Medical School, newspaper columnist discussing family dynamics and emotional issues, and volunteer counselor for incarcerated women. She was tireless in her ability to blend family and work along with a life that included alpine skiing, hiking and water sports throughout New England and the American West with her family, as well as international adventures such as summiting the Alps in Europe, skiing the Mer de Glace on Mt Blanc, skiing hut-to-hut through Norway, riding horses across the Steppes of Mongolia, and cultural explorations and hiking through Turkey, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Greece, Egypt and Morocco. She made multiple trips to Central and South America, including a circumnavigation of the Fitzroy Massif in Argentinian Patagonia.

Peregrine was an active member of the St. Thomas Episcopal Church of Hanover for over 60 years, devoting herself to serving in the choir and on the outreach committee. Based on her experience serving with the Winant Volunteers in Mexico during her undergraduate years, she continued her passion of serving the underserved by organizing parish service trips to El Salvador, fund-raising to donate imaging equipment to Salvadoran hospitals, and managing a fund for the Episcopal Dioceses to make microloans to women to start small home businesses. Her civic activities further included serving as the chairman of the Responsible Community Board of Hanover, New Hampshire, where she was active in the establishment of the Community Counseling Services and the Hanover Community Center.

Later in life, Peregrine found enormous pleasure in her four grandchildren and family time spent at their camp on Goose Pond in Canaan NH. She loved tennis and played weekly matches with her ladies doubles group, but never turned down an invitation to play singles with friends despite bilateral knee replacements. She also loved to watch the sun set over the mountains of Vermont from her living room window with her husband and Springer Spaniel, and enjoyed growing the colorful and abundant roses, irises, peonies and lilies that she loved so much.

Peregrine is preceded in death by her parents, brother, and infant son Peter Roher Spiegel. Peregrine is survived by her devoted husband Dr. Peter Kramer Spiegel, her children: Rolfe Warfield Spiegel (Kristen nee Berntson), Eric Barclay Spiegel (Brianna nee Smith) and Greta Tyler Spiegel Budelmann (Michael), her grandchildren Andrew Tyler Way, Molly Louise Way, Elsie Meredith Spiegel, Perry Francis Barclay Spiegel, as well as Cassie, her loyal springer spaniel. She will be missed greatly by all who knew her for her quick wit, infectious laugh, expansive warmth, open heart, and quiet strength.

Services and a celebration of life are scheduled for 11:00 am on November 30th, 2024 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 9 West Wheelock Street, Hanover, NH. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Hanover Conservancy or St. Thomas Episcopal Church.

 

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