Two Aspen Hall of Famers known for their big hearts and how much they gave back to the community passed away this week. Maggie DeWolf, who was 87, passed away at Aspen Valley Hospital this past weekend. Tage Pedersen died on Tuesday in Ashland, Oregon. He was 90.
Maggie DeWolf and her husband Nick were well known for their contributions to the Aspen community. They were both inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. Nick passed away in the same year.
Maggie continued to be involved in several nonprofit organizations in the area such as the Aspen Center for Physics, Independence Pass Foundation and Aspen Historical Society. She also supported artists and the arts in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Her daughter, Nicole, remembers her mom for being intellectually voracious and a very intense person in her own right.
“She was both generous and demanding,” Nicole said. “She really looked for the best in people, wanted people and the town of Aspen to be the best version of itself. That’s why she so much fostered the character of Aspen, the community, and it was all about ideas.”
The family is planning a memorial open to the community this summer. To read her full obituary, click here.
Fellow Aspen Hall of Famer Tage Pedersen was best known for his dedicated work in fitness and rehabilitation with the U.S. Ski Team over four decades. He moved from Denmark to Aspen in 1956 where he was the director of the Aspen Institute Health and Fitness Center until 1983.
Pedersen began training the U.S. Ski Team in 1968. He is credited with pioneering many rehabilitation programs before physical therapy even existed.
Pedersen had three daughters with his wife Pauline. His daughter, Lorna, said she will remember him for his overwhelming generosity and his love for people.
“He did so much for this community,” she said. “He was never looking for praise or money just because that’s the way he was. [He had] a strong heart, a big heart. [He was] a giver.”
Lorna said he would work with kids that often didn’t have the money to afford a physical therapist because he loved being able to help athletes return to their favorite sports.
He moved from Aspen to Oregon with his wife in 2001. She passed away in 2010. Pedersen was inducted into the Aspen Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2004.