Peggy Goodrich, active in Club with husband and former Head Hoot Bernie

Peggy Goodrich, 85, wife of the founder of the National Press Club’s Silver Owls, died June 2 in Ocean City, NJ, following a short illness.

She and her husband, Bernie Goodrich, were long active in the Club and the National Press Foundation, where Bernie served for many years as a member of the board. He had worked as a staff member of the old Washington Star and later became one of the top public relations professionals in Washington. In 1985, noting a decline in member participation at the Club after four years of demolition and reconstruction, he conceived the idea of the Silver Owls, a sort of club within the Club for individuals with 25 years or more of unbroken membership. Then Club President David Hess approved and the Owls were launched.

There now also are Golden Owls with 50 years of membership and Platinum Owls with 60 or more years as members. The Silver Owls sponsor two events a year, in the spring and fall, to which all Club members are invited.

The couple moved to Ocean City, Md., in 2016. They were married for 62 years. She is survived by Bernie, who continues as the emeritus Head Hoot of the Silver Owls, as well as as a daughter Christine Mooney, of Bethesda, Md., and three grandchildren, Margaret, William and Mary Grace Mooney.