Margarete Anna Thielbeer Aldrich "Peggy", 91, left this world on April 17 ^th , 2022 loving all of us. Margarete of Hartford, VT was born on June 20 ^th , 1930 in Bad Hersfeld, Germany. She completed school in Bad Hersfeld, Germany. After her parents passed and her terrible experience with WWII, Margarete and a close friend decided to come over to the "Free World USA". They arrived aboard the M.S. Italia ship in 1953 and became an official United States Citizen shortly after. She returned to Germany with her children in 1972 to visit her brother and show them where she grew up.

Peggy met her husband, Kenneth Aldrich. They had met while taking a cab home. They were married in 1955 and went on to have three children, Sharon, Kenneth Jr. and William. She worked at the Tip Top Bakery and many other local restaurants. She also worked at Landers Restaurant in Lebanon, NH where she was the head waitress for 12 plus years. After Landers, they purchased their own restaurant. In 1975 Kenneth & Margarete bought Sandy's Drive-In Lunch, located in Sharon, VT. They ran it until 1997 and it closed down due to Kenneth's decline in health. Many of the Sandy's crew that worked with Margarete grew to love her and remained friends for many years. Sandy's sat quietly after they closed until their daughter Sharon, grandson, Alan and his wife, Chanda decided to restart it and bring it back to the community. Alan and Chanda took it over in 2019 as the 3 ^rd generation when Sharon's health started to decline. And it's still going strong today, 47 plus years.

Kenneth and Margarete owned Cold Duck Camp in Rochester, VT. She was an avid hunter with getting more than six bucks in her hunting career. She loved spending time with family at the camp during hunting season. Her husband and her were lucky enough to both score a buck on the same day. Ken was a little jealous that she scored the bigger buck that day. After Kenneth passed, William and her took on the tradition hunting together. Margarete loved local modified car racing, both tar and dirt. Her favorite Dirt Track racer was Randy Howe. Her favorite Nascar driver was Jimmy Johnson. She had the pleasure of hanging out with Dale Earnhardt, Sr. at the Loudon racetrack at one point. Her son William had won tickets to the VIP experience, and she enjoyed joining him during this experience. Margarete enjoyed watching all kinds of sports with her son, William. She loved the Pittsburgh Steelers. Quarter back Big Ben Roethlisberger was one over favorite players. She loved cheering on Connor McGregor in the UFC, the Tyson Fury and Gypsy King in boxing, and in wrestling it was Roman Ranes. Margarete loved going to country concerts. She enjoyed watching and listening to George Strait and Brooks N Dunn. She was also a fan of Kid Rock. She had the pleasure of seeing him in concert with her son William a couple times. Most of all, her favorite thing to do was going to yard sales, rummage sales and thrift stores. She loved finding deals and talking with people. She enjoyed sitting and watching birds daily. She had male and female cardinals visit her every day. They were her favorite birds.

She is predeceased by her parents, August and Anna Thielbeer. Her brother, Walter and his wife, Emma Thielbeer, all of Bad Hersfeld, Germany. She is also predeceased by her husband, Kenneth, Sr., her son, Kenneth, Jr., Sharon's longtime companion, Alan Loring and William's fiancée, Doreen Wyatt.

She leaves a daughter, Sharon Aldrich of Sharon, VT, a son, William "Harvey" Aldrich of Hartford, VT, a grandson, Alan Aldrich and his wife, Chanda of Hartford, VT and three great grandchildren, Amber, Aliza and Alan, Jr "AJ". She also leaves some extended family, Marsha and her son, Matt Sargent.

Thank you to Harvey for taking care of Margarete throughout the last 24 years of her life after Kenneth's passing.

She will be missed by many.

Special thanks to the Jack Byrne Center for all their loving care on her final moments. Thanks to all the staff at DHMC with a special thank you to Dr. Gormley and all the staff at the surgery outpatient center "58".

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cancer and Heart association of your choosing.

A graveside service is planned for 2PM on Sunday, May 15 ^th at the Hartford Cemetery, following with a celebration of life at Margarete's house: 61 Aldrich Lane, Hartford, VT.

Condolences may be made in an online guestbook found at www.knightfuneralhomes.com