Peggy Chun (1946-2008)

Peggy Chun is known in Hawaii for her beautiful and often whimsical paintings. Her work can be found in both private and corporate collections across the globe. This watercolor artist, who lived the last years of her life paralyzed by ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, captured the “spirit of aloha” and thrived on sharing her love of the islands (and life!) with the world. Even through her six-year battle with ALS, Peggy continued to live a full and creative life, inspiring those around her with her courage, passion, and sense of humor in the face of adversity.

Peggy spent the last three years of her life fully paralyzed, using a spell board to spell words out with her eye movement, letter-by-letter. She spent her time directing art projects, critiquing artwork, and expressing her artistic visions. For Peggy, creating was living. “After all,” she said, “you don’t paint with your hands, you paint with your heart.”