Peggy Blatt, who friends remember as someone with “an amazing ability for compassion,” died in her Littleton home July 21 after battling an illness for several years. She was 60.
Blatt, a therapist, had a rare gift, friends said. “Friends and clients felt they were heard and understood,” said longtime friend Julie Pata of Littleton. “She was a natural healer.”
Blatt started out as an elementary school teacher and she loved the work, but found her niche as a counselor.
“People just automatically opened up with her, even complete strangers,” said her husband, Steve Blatt.
“She was totally present with people and heard what they said and didn’t say,” said her husband. “She was very wise: she helped people find their own solutions.”
He said his wife was “drawn to kids,” especially those with problems. She also counseled people with chronic diseases, though her patients didn’t know she was battling an illness herself. “She didn’t want to be defined by her illness.”
When she was no longer able to work full-time she worked part-time as a placement supervisor for agencies doing international adoptions. Later, she was a volunteer reading teacher at a Douglas county elementary school.
“I know she got depressed about the struggle for energy,” said Pam Morrow, a friend and therapist who lives in Greeley. “But she never showed any aggravation about it.”
Margaret (Peggy) Granger was born Feb. 23, 1946, in Bethesda, Md., and grew up in Cleveland. She graduated from the University of Michigan.
She met Steve Blatt at the university while they were doing political canvassing. They married in 1968 and served together in the Peace Corps in Tonga.
The couple came to Denver in 1971. Peggy Blatt earned a master’s in education at the University of Colorado at Denver and taught at two elementary schools.
After the illness was diagnosed she went to the University of Denver, where she earned a master’s in social work. She had a private counseling practice from 1991 until 2003.
In addition to her husband, a radio announcer at KVOD, Denver’s classical radio station, she is survived by two sons: Ben Blatt, New York City, and David Blatt, Chicago; her parents, Fred and Georgia Lee Granger of Laguna Hills, Calif.; her brother, Jim Granger of Columbus, Ohio; and her sister, Carol Sorensen of New Orleans, La.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at vculver@denverpost.com or at 303-820-1223.