League, 65, passed away Sunday as one of the oldest survivors of CF in New England. It was a disease she carried her whole life but one she was determined would not identify her.

Born in Topsham in 1948, League grew up on the family dairy farm and graduated from Brunswick High School and the University of Maine. She played basketball and softball in school and in keeping with her upbringing on the farm, she loved the outdoors.

Her brother, Dana Totman, said she enjoyed and preferred physical, manual and outdoor work to play.

“We had great fun building treehouses, cabins in the woods, racing bicycles, tinkering on cars, smelt fishing, target shooting and hunting,” Totman said. “When not working and doing chores she would often play basketball or softball — as aggressively and physically as any male in the neighborhood.”

Totman said he was usually paired with his sister and the spirited game would usually not end until there was an injury or the two were called in to do chores.

Described as “never idle” by her brother, League enjoyed riding and grooming horses, performing science experiments, trying to incubate eggs, repairing radios and sawing boards into play rifles and pistols.

Totman said winters were full of sledding, tobogganing, skiing and smelt fishing, while summer was full of farm chores.

“Our parents would load us and friends into the car and we’d go to Popham Beach to ride the waves and enjoy the beach, but we had to get back by 4:30 to do the evening milking of the cows,” Totman said.

As an adult, League remained just as active, especially in the outdoors, hunting and fishing when she wasn’t working in her garden, Totman said.

In 1983, Peggy met Rocky League. Totman said the two were soul mates.

“Her cystic fibrosis and his multiple sclerosis did not slow them down,” Totman said, “and Peggy, all her life, and Rocky, as long as I have known him with MS, have never complained about their health complications.”

League’s sister, Mary Totman Tajima, remembered the farm girl who made fun out of her chores.

“Getting hay in is not a fun job,” Tajima said, “but when my family came up from Massachusetts to help out, Peggy managed to turn haying into a comedy routine.”

Tajima said her sister would often be driving the tractor that pulled the hay trailer. “My two boys and my husband usually threw the bales onto the trailer while our daughter helped me stack.

“It’s always either hot and humid or looking like rain,” Tajima said of the August haying season. “Hay chaff gets stuck on your arms and neck and scratches your arms as you pick up the bales.

“But with Peggy at the helm it became a contest to see how fast the boys could bury us with hay before we could stack it, or a contest to see if you could actually throw the bale all the way over the trailer so that your brother had to pick it up on the other side,” Tajima said.

“Peggy egged everyone on and her comments flew almost as fast as the hay,” Tajima said. “At the end of one load, another guy getting hay from the field said to our dad, ‘I had no idea getting hay in could actually be fun.’ Our dad just laughed, knowing Peggy could turn almost anything into a game.”

League’s stepdaughter, Rhonda Toothman, remembered her as a remarkable stepmother to her and her sisters, Ann Hammond and Kelly Thigpen.

“She decided not to have any children of her own as to not take a single chance of this deadly disease ravaging its effects on anyone else,” Toothman said.

“She was always smiling and encouraging each person she came into contact with,” Toothman said. “I knew I could always count on her to encourage me, support me and also be honest with me, whether I wanted to hear it.”

She added, “One thing that stands out to me is the relationship she and my dad had,” Toothman said. “To this day, he still calls her his bride.

“Anyone who knew them knows how much she was loved by my dad and how much she loved him,” Toothman said. “They were each other’s best friend and support system, never accepting limitations and always finding ways to enjoy life together.

“They were truly best friends and enjoyed many activities together,” she said. “I believe her determination for living life to the fullest is the contributing factor for her being with us as long as she was.”

A 20-year retired L.L. Bean security guard, an animal-loving, Alaska zip-lining member of the Durham Trail Riders Association, League was known for a great many things. Cystic fibrosis was not one of them.

A funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, at Stetson’s Funeral Home, 12 Federal St., Brunswick, followed by a celebration of her life at the Brunswick Hotel and Tavern, 4 Noble St. Donations in League’s memory may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 6931 Arlington Road, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814.

dmcintire@sunjournal.com

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