When Peggy Quirke walked into a room her larger-than-life personality and generous spirit took over. She loved conversation and learning the details of others’ lives. “Anyone who met her, loved her,” says Peggy’s long-time best friend Pam Weiger.

Peggy and Pam had a special friendship that spanned more than 50 years, different states, and different countries. While living near a military base as children, Peggy was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in sixth grade.

“Peggy and I were neighbors, and our moms became very close. One summer she became very ill, and her mom pushed the doctor to test her for T1D even though he kept telling her it was very unlikely. Her mom was right,” says Pam.

“Two summers later my family had moved to Japan. My mom started noticing the same symptoms in me that Peg was having two years earlier. I know Peg’s diagnosis saved my life and saved me from a very serious situation when I was diagnosed with T1D.”

Peggy and Pam continued to be best friends as their paths crossed over the years. In the early days of friendship, the pair would exchange letters and cassette tapes. As teens, their parents allowed them visit in the summers. And after becoming roommates in D.C. during their early adult years, Peggy and Pam remained close with both of their families eventually settling in Florida.

“Peg and I shared a lot of life together. Something I always admired about Peg was her attitude. She worked hard at controlling her T1D and was always getting the newest, cutting-edge technology to help her. She pushed challenges aside and made living with T1D work for her instead of letting it hold her back,” says Pam.

Peggy held a soft spot for children and a deep desire to help find a cure for T1D. This led her to leave the majority of her estate to JDRF upon her passing in August of 2020.

“She wanted JDRF to find a cure so other children didn’t have to deal with the issues we had to growing up,” says Pam. JDRF is forever grateful to Peggy and celebrates her incredibly generous legacy. This $3.2 million bequest will accelerate Peggy’s goal, and the goal of so many others, to find cures for T1D.

To date, JDRF has received more than $150 million from legacy gifts and currently 3,800+ supporters have shared that they have included commitments to JDRF with an estimated value of more than $250 million.

Learn more about legacy giving by visiting our Planned Giving site.