Margaret M. (Peg) Rasch died on April 17, 2024 at age 83 at the SSM Health Hospice Home, Monroe WI.  The cause of death was autoimmune encephalitis and associated complications, following multiple months in medical hell.   

Peg was born on June 16, 1940 in Milwaukee, the eldest of 8 children of Ambrose and Dorothy (Goetz) Kreuser.  She attended St. Sebastian School and Divine Savior High School in Milwaukee, followed by graduation from the University of Wisconsin–Platteville in 1965.  In later years, she also did graduate work at the Universities of Wisconsin-Madison and Platteville and at Loras College.

Peg married Paul Rasch in 1965, followed by their joint enrollment in Peace Corps training.  Her daughter Rebecca was born of that union, which ended in divorce when Rebecca was 2.  Thereafter Peg single-handedly raised Rebecca until she graduated from college in 1989.  Once that project was completed, she married David Stute on December 29, 1989. [Another project, she might say.]

Peg was a public sector employee until she retired.  She started as a social worker at Elgin (Illinois) Mental Hospital, followed by employment by the Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, where she quickly rose to become Executive Director for 3+years.  Needing less-demanding employment as a single parent, she moved to Milwaukee and became the Wisconsin Department of Local Affairs and Development (DLAD)’s liaison between the state of Wisconsin and Milwaukee’s Model Cities program (a “War on Poverty” initiative).  

Moving to Madison, Peg served as a policy analyst at DLAD, doing research, preparing fiscal notes on proposed legislation and later became a consultant to local governments on reforming their personnel practices.  With the dissolution of DLAD, she continued doing local government personnel consulting at the Department of Administration until she transferred to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in 1983.  There, in turn, she coordinated the Wisconsin Conservation Corps program; administered federal sewer grants to local governments; and managed DNR’s summer youth conservation camps program.  She retired from state service in 1994 to attend to family matters.  Once those were taken care of, she worked part-time for several years in a variety of interesting jobs. Throughout her years of service, she prided herself in her research and analytical abilities.

Peg moved to Washington D.C. in October 1999 for a 15-month period, for the purpose of helping her daughter Rebecca live with, and ultimately die from, Stage IV lung cancer.  It was a wrenching experience which she negotiated with great grace.

Peg and David relocated from Madison to rural Argyle in late 2003.  Peg became active in local organizations, including St. Joseph Catholic Church, the Lafayette County Association for Home and Community Education, Lafayette County Democratic Party, Wiota Firemen’s Auxiliary, Friends of the Argyle Public Library (most recently) and the Argyle book group.  She was also part of an informal group that taught ESL to local dairy farm employees.  Last, she maintained ties to friends and acquaintances in Madison, especially membership in her 50+ year-old book group, of which she was a charter member.

Peg loved travel.  Places she visited include multiple countries in western Europe; Morocco; El Salvador, Peru, Cuba and Mexico, as well as numerous places stateside.  Her last venture was in September 2023, when she and her eldest granddaughter walked the final leg of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James), an ancient pilgrimage route in NW Spain.

Peg is survived by her husband, David Stute, 3 stepchildren - James, Suzanne (Jeff Miller) and Anton (Tami) Stute, 3 grandchildren - Rachel and McKenzie Stute and Holden Miller; 4 siblings – Susan Walker, Michael (Marjorie) Kreuser, Kathleen (Werner) Kreuser-Klement and Patrick (Jeanne) Kreuser; and 7 nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her daughter, Rebecca Rasch Hamaide; her parents; 3 brothers – Peter, William and Hans Kreuser; 2 in-laws – Gina Kreuser and Donald Walker; and her first husband, Paul Rasch.

A funeral service will be held Friday, April 19, 2024 at 11:00 A.M. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Argyle with Fr. David Carrano officiating. Burial will be in St. Francis Cemetery in rural Argyle. A visitation will be held Friday, April 19, 2024 from 9:00 A.M. until 10:45 A.M. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. The Erickson Funeral Home in Argyle is serving the family. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.ericksonfuneralhome.com.

Special thanks to the compassionate and caring women who staff the SSM Monroe Hospice facility; they facilitated Peg’s final journey with great gentleness.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to Friends of the Argyle Public Library, P.O. Box 293, Argyle WI 53504.  Peg would have liked that.  Thank you.