COVID victim recalled as loving grandmother
SHARON HILL » Margaret “Peggy” Baumert had survived Stage 4 breast cancer four decades ago, as well as the death of her beloved husband 10 years ago,. But she wasn’t able to beat the ravages of coronavirus.
On March 24, the 84-yearold Sharon Hill resident, Eagles season ticket holder and adored family matriarch died at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital.
“She was huge on family,” her granddaughter Reilly Amann said. “She loved family time, loved her friends. She was literally the most loving, caring person.”
Even in her obituary, the family was so grateful for the medical staff and asked that contributions be directed towards them as they valiantly try to save lives in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital for taking such good care of mom,” the family wrote. “Please consider a donation in mom’s name to a hospital for the protective gear that the doctors and nurses need to provide care to those who are in desperate need.”
Amann and others recalled a vivid, spirited woman who was a regular at any of her nine grandchildren’s sports games or in her devotion towards routing for the Birds.
“She would sit here and scream at the TV all day,” Amann laughed about Eagles game days at their house. “Right before she passed, she rewatched the Super Bowl.”
Sports were almost as important to her as family, as evident by the annual vacation to Lake George, N.Y., that they all took every year for 50 years.
“All my cousins, we all grew up playing sports. She always came,” Amann said, adding that Baumert would sit through high school and college lacrosse and soccer, with the later being her favorite.
Even as Amann began coaching women’s lacrosse at Rosemont College, Baumert sat on the sidelines.
“She knew most of the girls,” her granddaughter said. “She would watch and she would cheer for us.”
Amann chuckled, “She was involved in everything and anything.”
The granddaughter recalled bringing home her criminal justice textbooks from Neumann University. “She loved to read,” Amann said. “Every morning, she would read. I would bring her home my books from school ... She would read the whole thing in a day.”
Amann lived with her grandmom and helped take care of her, especially after her grandfather, Frederick “Bud” Baumert, died a decade ago.
“She got pretty sick after he passed,” the granddaughter said. “Her health has been insane. It seems like the only thing that could get her was a pandemic.”
Amann said she recalled coming home Monday, March 16, and an ambulance having to be summoned.
“She was upstairs, she was throwing up and she was on the floor,” she said. “She was going in an out of consciousness.”
That was the last time she saw her grandmom.
“When she went in, they called and said she had pneumonia,” Amann said. “Then, they decided that they were going to test her for the COVID. They got back to us on the 18th and they said she tested positive for it. She ended up having a heart attack, too. Her poor body went through it all.”
Although they couldn’t visit, family members still called Baumert on the phone.
On March 18, the day before Amann’s birthday, she talked to her grandmother about her favorite kitty, A.J.
“I just adopted a cat recently,” Amann said. “She loved him more than anything. She has a specific chair that only she was allowed to sit on. I was telling her that he was taking over her chair and she was saying that he could take it over until she came home.”
Six days later, she died. “I thought that she would maybe move into a nursing home just to get that extra care,” Amann said. “None of us honestly expected this.”
On March 27, personnel from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the family to tell them they had to bury her immediately.
“We were only allowed to have 10 people there,” Amann said. “Me, my mom and aunt all had to stay in our cars because we’re all sick ... It was pretty awful and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”
Amann said she and her aunt got tested and they’re awaiting the results as they remain in isolation.
“I haven’t been able to leave,” she said, adding that she has a cough and fever and can’t taste or smell anything. “It’s awful being stuck in the house in general, but being stuck in the house where I grew up with my Mommom, it’s been really rough.”
And, the questions and thoughts churn in her mind.
“It makes me upset to see people outside and hanging out with friends,” Amann said. “My Mommom never left the house. We have the question of how she got it. Me and my Aunt Debbie were considered essential workers because we were stocking stores. Did we bring it home? ... There’s so many things up in the air. It’s frustrating to see people out there and not taking it serious.”
Family friend Paula
Brown agreed.
“It’s really hitting home here,” she said. “She’s the first one that I know of ... She was very vibrant, very active ... She was just very, very active and all of a sudden, she got sick.”
Brown expressed condolences to the family.
“It was such a shame because she was alone,” Brown said. “The family wasn’t allowed in.”
She hoped people would heed to the guidelines meant to mitigate the COVID-19 spread.
“Why is everybody still out?” Brown asked. “I still don’t understand ... Stay home. What is it going to hurt you? What is it going to hurt you?”
As her family works to establish an organization in Baumert’s name to honor her participation in the Collingdale Senior Club, Amann implored others to remember the older and lonely members of the community.
“We gotta be there for one another,” the granddaughter said. “We’ve gotta look out for the elderly ... We want people to be more aware that they need to take care of the elders, just to do anything you can. Many are alone.”