Peg Bertsch, Supporter of Hearing Loss Research, Dies at 88
The U-M Medical School lost a longtime friend and pioneering supporter of hearing loss research when Margaret G. “Peg” Bertsch, 88, died on March 3 in Grand Rapids.
Bertsch, a U-M alumna who was active in theater and drama during her Michigan days and who, throughout her life, remained deeply involved in her community, funded research at the U-M to help determine the cause of certain types of genetic hearing loss, a condition prevalent in her family. Characteristic of her style, drive and dogged idealism, just one week after establishing the fund Bertsch called the Medical School to check on the progress of the research she was supporting.
Bertsch showed great foresight by supporting genetics research in the mid-1990s, a time when the Human Genome Project was in its infancy and few understood the importance of studying the genetic basis of disease. Her support enabled the U-M to develop a premier research group dedicated to understanding the genetic basis of deafness. “Peg Bertsch was dedicated to making a difference,” says Gregory Wolf, M.D., chair of the Department of Otolaryngology, “for her family, and for the world at large. We will greatly miss — and always remember — her inspiring spirit and the significant influence she had on advancing our work.”
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