Obituaries
William Donovan Peeler
( April 21, 1939 - June 14, 2021 )
“And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20
He showed each of us his love in his own way: turning a double play, a wave of the hand on his daily run around town, or having a warm pan of peanuts ready when we walked through the door. He was daddy to three, but Papaw Don to all.
The family will celebrate his life Wednesday afternoon at Reeps Grove United Methodist Church in Vale, with visitation beginning at 1:30 p.m. and funeral services at 3 p.m. The family will remain to hear all stories, true and mostly true, after a brief graveside goodbye.
Peeler was born on April 21, 1939, to the late Millard Griffin Peeler and Lucy Levada Hull Peeler of the Vale community. He was a big brother to the late Millard Lee “Bud” Peeler, Frances Peeler Shoup, Peggy Peeler Earl and George Edward Peeler, and their families.
A plant engineer with Vermont American Manufacturing for nearly 50 years, Peeler contributed a lifetime to Lincoln County’s industrial and economic base, through both his work and play. He managed Vermont American’s state champion industrial league softball team to a third-place national finish in the 1976 ASA championships. A charter member of the West Lincoln Optimist Club, he helped design and build the baseball fields still in use today.
He is survived by daughters Donita Peeler Davis of Vale and Beth Peeler Finley of Greenville, S.C., and their husbands, Delaine Davis and Doug Finley; and by son Timothy Michael Peeler and his wife Elizabeth Davis Peeler of Cary, N.C.
Also surviving are six grandchildren and their families: John William Davis and Laura Brackett Davis and son Charlie Yancey of Vale; Jeffery Wade Davis and Katie Williams Davis and children Lane, Hadley and McKenna of Vale; Matthew Spencer Finley and Jordan Tyler Finley of Greenville, S.C.; and Michael Davis Peeler and Benjamin Davis Peeler of Cary, N.C.
He enjoyed his final years with friend Joanne Gilbert Eller of Charlotte, N.C.
Memorials can be made to the West Lincoln Optimist Club, 595 N.C. Highway 27, Vale, NC, 28168, or to a meaningful charity that lends a helping hand, binds together the community or brings families closer together.
Matthew 28:20
William Donovan Peeler, a pillar of the Vale community for nine decades, died at his home on Peeler Road Monday afternoon. He was 82.
The family will celebrate his life Wednesday afternoon at Reeps Grove United Methodist Church in Vale, with visitation beginning at 1:30 p.m. and funeral services at 3 p.m. The family will remain to hear all stories, true and mostly true, after a brief graveside goodbye.
Peeler was born on April 21, 1939, to the late Millard Griffin Peeler and Lucy Levada Hull Peeler of the Vale community. He was a big brother to the late Millard Lee “Bud” Peeler, Frances Peeler Shoup, Peggy Peeler Earl and George Edward Peeler, and their families.
On Monday afternoon, he enjoyed his first heavenly dance with grade school sweetheart Ruth Gales Peeler, his wife of 43 years who predeceased him in 2000.
He is survived by daughters Donita Peeler Davis of Vale and Beth Peeler Finley of Greenville, S.C., and their husbands, Delaine Davis and Doug Finley; and by son Timothy Michael Peeler and his wife Elizabeth Davis Peeler of Cary, N.C.
Also surviving are six grandchildren and their families: John William Davis and Laura Brackett Davis and son Charlie Yancey of Vale; Jeffery Wade Davis and Katie Williams Davis and children Lane, Hadley and McKenna of Vale; Matthew Spencer Finley and Jordan Tyler Finley of Greenville, S.C.; and Michael Davis Peeler and Benjamin Davis Peeler of Cary, N.C.
He enjoyed his final years with friend Joanne Gilbert Eller of Charlotte, N.C.
Memorials can be made to the West Lincoln Optimist Club, 595 N.C. Highway 27, Vale, NC, 28168, or to a meaningful charity that lends a helping hand, binds together the community or brings families closer together.
Posted on 15 Jun 2021
Current Information
Contact
125 Dave Warlick Drive
Lincolnton, NC 28092
704/735-2521