Friends and family gathered at Children’s Beach House June 27, to celebrate the life of Margaret “Peggy” Rollins, a Lewes native who passed away Dec. 9, 2025, in Georgia.

It was an appropriate time for the family gathering, as Mrs. Rollins loved being in her hometown for the Fourth of July. And as we get ready for the 250th birthday of our country, it felt more appropriate to remember Mrs. Rollins and the impact she and her family have made in the First Town in the First State.

One of my first personal memories of Mrs. Rollins occurred only a few weeks after I arrived in Lewes at the onset of the pandemic. When speaking with her on the phone, she was concerned to learn we were staying at a hotel on Route 1. Although we did not know each other, Mrs. Rollins quickly offered us the use of her family beach house in Lewes.  

I respectfully declined and thanked her, but that act of personal kindness always resonated as I learned more about who she was and what she meant to our community. And as I spent time with her, I was always buoyed by the twinkle in her eye and her indomitable spirit as well as the fierce pride she had in being from Lewes.

Many organizations honored the Rollins family at the celebration. Lewes named a day in her honor. It was a lovely afternoon, and I am sure that Mrs. Rollins would have been happy it took place at Children’s Beach House.  

My hope is that Mr. and Mrs. Rollins and the Rollins family will accept from Beebe Healthcare the ongoing and perpetual gift their generosity has supported: years of nurses graduating from the Margaret H. Rollins School of Nursing – voted the best nursing school in Delaware for 15 straight years – and physicians graduating from multiple residency and specialty programs through the R. Randall Rollins Center for Medical Education to stay and practice here. 

Soon, medical students from Delaware’s first medical school will also train in Lewes. Every new nurse, family and specialty physician, and medical student will forever carry the Rollins name in their hearts, as beneficiaries of their generosity and of an education grounded in service to the people of Lewes, Sussex County, and beyond for decades to come.

I hope Mr. and Mrs. Rollins like that. Thank you, and happy Fourth to the Rollins family and to all of you. Please be safe and know that Beebe is here when you need us.