West County woman connects generations through personal stories

 Peggy Greenwood knows from experience how important a late loved one’s history can be to surviving family members. Greenwood’s own mother recently passed away, at which time family and friends celebrated her life at a memorial mass. The program included an eloquently written memoir by Greenwood herself, and it included humorous anecdotes that brought both laughter and tears to an already touching story.

Greenwood, a professional personal historian who lives in Des Peres, has found a niche writing similar pieces – which she calls legacy letters.

A legacy letter, Greenwood explained, is a document that chronicles the uniqueness, personal history, beliefs or achievements that an individual wishes to preserve. It may be a letter, an ethical will, a personal story, a poem, short reminiscences, life lessons and more.

Greenwood’s philosophy is simple: Every ordinary person has an extraordinary story waiting to be told. She believes that story is the most valuable gift a person can present to his or her family. She tailors her work to meet the wishes and personality of each client.

In other words, as she has posted on her website, “A last will and testament hands down valuables, a legacy letter hands down values.”

“Legacy, sometimes called ‘personal history,’ is the name given to the recording of the stories of contemporaries, as opposed to the family stories that are family histories,” Greenwood said.  “Just as important as preserving physical items for descendants is the preservation of values.  It is a personal story of achievements, struggles, victories, defeats, joys, sorrows, hobbies, beliefs and/or values to be treasured long after any material inheritance is dispersed.”

Greenwood’s professional background includes a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in sociology, with an emphasis on social history. She taught for 10 years at the high school and college levels and has written dozens of articles for newspapers and magazines.

“For the past 30 years, I’ve been passionately involved in genealogy, having completed research for clients as far away as Venice, Italy,” Greenwood said. “I have worked for lawyers searching for legitimate heirs and heirs seeking the provenance of a family heirloom. Along the way I encountered story after story that needed to be recorded. I began telling people of the importance of composing their own family stories, and recording them while they had the chance.”

Greenwood, who works with her clients through interviews and research to create a memoir or a simple narrative, helped St. Albans resident Pete Rubinelli, 68, create an addition to his family history.

“I’ve always wanted to pass on certain information and personal feelings I felt strongly about, but I wasn’t sure how to effectively accomplish this,” Rubinelli said. “When I heard about legacy letters, I felt this was the perfect tool for doing so.

“My personal legacy letter captured my passion for life with its major struggles and hurdles, and the people who helped form me into the man I am today. Peggy did an incredible job of documenting all that I wanted to communicate in a way that was both touching and entertaining.”

More on creating a legacy letter to pass down to loved ones can be found at www.visheritage.net.