Peggy’s Dream That Started It All

Peggy and some of the Friends of Hospice helpers from left: Peggy Donaldson, Judi Smith, Marie Clarke, Iva Sakaria

The story of Lake Taupō Hospice really begins with one woman and a dream.

For Peggy Donaldson, that dream grew out of two very personal experiences of loss. When Peggy was just fourteen, her father died after a long battle with cancer. He was cared for at home, surrounded by family, and after he passed, he lay in state in the family lounge before his funeral.

A few years later, when Peggy’s mother died while Peggy was a student nurse, the experience was very different. Her mother died in a hospital side room, and soon after, her body was taken away. Peggy and her family didn’t see her again.

Those two moments stayed with her. They showed her just how important it was not only to care for someone at the end of their life, but also to care for the people around them.

Years later, in 1981, Peggy read an article in the Listener about the hospice movement in New Zealand and the work of Dr Richard Turnbull at Te Omanga Hospice in Lower Hutt. Inspired, she wrote to him asking how a hospice service might start in Taupō.

His advice was simple — gather a group of people and attend a palliative care conference in Gisborne.

With the help of her friend Gordon Melville, funding was secured and five locals travelled to the 1982 Palliative Care Conference. The experience was incredibly inspiring and gave the group the confidence to bring the idea of hospice care back to Taupō.

What followed was years of dedication, community support and hard work. Finally, in 1986, the Taupō Community Hospice Trust was formed, with the vision of supporting people with terminal illness to remain in the comfort of their own homes, surrounded by the people they loved.

Nearly forty years later, Peggy’s dream is still very much alive.

In a special full-circle moment, Peggy’s granddaughter Rebecca Gregory now works at Lake Taupō Hospice as one of our Specialist Palliative Care Nurses, continuing the legacy of compassion and care that Peggy helped start all those years ago.

As we celebrate 40 years of hospice care in our community, we remember Peggy Donaldson — and the simple but powerful dream that started it all.

If you want to read the full History of Lake Taupō Hospice put together by the amazing Jane Fogden and Hélène Everest click HERE

Peggy at her 90th birthday celebration.

Peggy and her Grandaughter Rebecca (current nurse at Lake Taupō Hospice)