Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Margaret “Peggy” Dills Kelter passed away on May 6, 2026, just shy of her 70th birthday. She was born in Needham, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1956, to Robert and Jean Dills. The youngest of three, she grew up in Wilton, Connecticut. She attended Kirkland College in Clinton, New York, majoring in Art History and Spanish. Peggy moved from Boston to Hood River, Oregon, in 1979, having fallen in love with the area and with a young man she met on a previous visit while attending her brother’s wedding. She married Jim Kelter on May 1, 1982, and together they welcomed their daughter Rose in 1987.
Peggy worked for 20 years at Waucoma Bookstore, making a career shift to education in 2002 after earning her Master of Arts in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College. She worked at Mid Valley Elementary teaching kindergarten, third grade and later ELL and art before retiring in 2015.
Peggy was an avid artist who channeled her creativity through many mediums. Her watercolors, pastel, collage, and calligraphy can be found throughout the valley to this day. Her creativity extended beyond the canvas. She wrote a monthly column for the Hood River News and was a frequent contributor to Columbia Gorge Magazine. She was a fabulous cook and appreciated learning about cuisines of different cultures. She showed her love for others by filling their bellies with gourmet delights.
She cared deeply for her community, which was reflected in the countless volunteer hours she devoted to the causes and people she cared about. She was a pioneer in bringing art to schools. She was an avid volunteer for Columbia Gorge Arts in Education, SMART Reading, FISH Food Bank, Hood River County Library, Helping Hands Against Violence, and Columbia Gorge Master Recyclers.
Her kindness and love for others will be greatly missed. She is survived by her husband Jim (Hood River); daughter and son-in-law Rose and Tommy Sherwood and grandsons Charlie and Henry (Sherwood, Oregon); Brother Rick Dills and his wife Jean (Hood River); and sister Barbara Dills (Carbondale, Colorado), as well as multiple nieces and nephews and their families.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Arts in Education of the Gorge (gorgeartsined.org) or Columbia Gorge Health Council Bridges to Health (www.cghealthcouncil.org/bridges-to-health).
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.