As the MOMs and Kiwanis groups are drawing closer to their goal, it’s fitting that a donation with a personal touch will get them there.
Mitch Sigg, owner of Sigg Motors, made a $25,000 donation in memory of his late wife, Peggy Sigg, who died in 2012.
“She really loved kids,” Sigg said, while sitting in his office Saturday morning. His family has had the chance to get to know LeAnn Church, her son Theo, Lesley Skahan, her son Mason and their families. When Sigg heard that the MOMs were nearing their goal for the special needs-access playground, he knew that his wife would have wanted the donation to go to them.
“They were getting pretty close,” he said. “And I thought, ‘we can take care of that.’”
“He said, ‘Let’s finish this thing,’” Skahan said. She elaborated on what the donation meant to her personally, as well as for her family.
“For me, it’s very personal, I got to know Peggy through Mason,” Skahan said. They taught Parish School of Religion (PSR) together at St. John’s in Iola.
Skahan said her son’s special needs drew her closer to her religion, and when Peggy was battling breast cancer, her demeanor affected her in a profound way.
“I remember something she said. She didn’t like that she had breast cancer, but wouldn’t have changed her journey for the world,” Skahan said. “It’s the way she carried herself — it really had an impact on me.”
Skahan said Peggy’s daughter Jenna Sigg now teaches PSR with her, and she has many of her mother’s traits. It all comes full circle in the end.
“She has a huge place in my heart,” Skahan said. “I think about her all the time.”
The MOMs group is currently waiting delivery of the playground equipment with installation planned for the first weekend in April.
A family bond – Relationship aids MOMs project
