A Fitting Tribute to a Life of Giving

It’s much more than just a pretty park

Opened in 2025, the Peggy Lindberg Agility Park at the University Woods campus features peaceful walkways, flower gardens, and benches. It’s also part of the legacy of a longtime resident who loved Oakwood Village, and serves as a unique space for those recovering from medical procedures.

“One challenge to rehabilitation after surgeries or other procedures is that it often takes place in a flat hallway,” says Kristin Lefel, Oakwood’s Director of Therapy and Fitness. “That sounds like a safe area to practice moving around, but patients don’t have the chance to get used to real world situations like hills or gravel paths. When they get home, they may assume they are ready to go because they had been doing fine in the controlled environment of the rehabilitation space, but their brains and bodies aren’t quite ready for everything in the new environment.”

Enter the Peggy Lindberg Agility Park. Instead of a smooth tile floor, it offers gravel, sand, concrete, and wooden deck surfaces, among others. On their strolls, patients can navigate steps and inclines, and their practice in these conditions pays off when they leave therapy.

This park, one of the first of its kind in Wisconsin, exists because of former resident Margaret “Peggy” Lindberg, whose charitable foundation is still making an impact after her passing by making donations that support causes like wildlife and education.

“[Peggy] very much believed in Oakwood, [and] thought it was the best thing she ever did moving in,” reflects her niece, Vicki Butler, who serves on the foundation’s board and spearheaded the approval of the project.

“The functionality and beauty of this park make it an enriching environment where residents can truly thrive,” says Jan Hamilton-Crawford, President and CEO of Oakwood Village. “It’s a fitting tribute to Peggy’s life of generosity and caring.”

One example of that care was Peggy’s support for a young girl from Guatemala. Butler recalls Peggy doing so through an organization called Compassion International. Though the program ended when the girl turned 18, Peggy wanted to make sure she could go to college, too. At age 85, Peggy surprised her family by sharing that she would travel to Guatemala to arrange the tuition.

While at first physical issues required Peggy to undergo months of physical therapy, she stuck it out faithfully, making the trip all the way to Central America using a walker.

Peggy also spent years supporting her husband Don, who became a quadriplegic after an operation.

“He was an incredible man, and the two of them influenced a lot of people in their lives,” shares Vicki.

But it wasn’t easy, and Peggy carried out significant daily tasks to make it possible for Don to function.

The park’s butterfly garden is also a reflection of Peggy. At Don’s funeral, while a guitarist sang a song about butterflies, a butterfly appeared and flew all around the gathering, Vicki remembers. Ever after, butterflies were significant to Peggy.

Relationships were very important to Peggy, Vicky notes, and Peggy built up a dedicated group of friends. Many of them still live at Oakwood and will be able to benefit from the park created in her memory, Kristin says, noting that it is open to anyone, from those undergoing therapy to those who simply want to sit on a bench and enjoy the space.

Residents love the park, and those in therapy have been excited to get more confidence from using it, Kristin says.