John Merriwether Peek Jr.

Peek, Sr. and Margaret Moir Peek on March 21, 1930. He was raised by his paternal grandparents, William Stewart Peek, Sr. and Eugenia Thomasson Peek. He was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, brother Ralph S. Peek, and grandson Jonathan Grant Smallwood.

John graduated from Jefferson High School in Roanoke in 1949. He majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a naval ROTC scholarship. Following his 1953 graduation, John was commissioned to the US Navy. He was stationed in Bayonne, NJ and then Norfolk, VA and served as cryptographer and supply officer aboard the USS New during the Korean conflict. After six years together during high school and college, John married the love of his life, Fay Marie Sumpter, on June 12, 1953 in Roanoke.

After his naval service, John and Fay returned to Roanoke, where he worked first for The Roanoke World-News and then for Reuben H. Donnelly Corporation. John went on to work for his uncle, Herbert Moir, in construction. Herb and John and the company were hired to build Windsor Hills Baptist Church where John and Fay were charter members. In 1962 John began a long career with Allstate Insurance.

Allstate transferred John as operations division manager from Roanoke to the Dallas regional office in 1974, and the family moved to Plano in January 1975. John retired from Allstate in 1993. He and Fay and their daughters were charter members of Prairie Creek Baptist Church in Plano where John served as a deacon and a long time senior adult Sunday School teacher.

John's greatest joys were serving his family and serving the church. In their 71 years of marriage, John and Fay committed their lives to Christ and to raising their daughters in the ways of the Lord. John was the greatest example of God's unconditional love for his children, making it easy for his daughters to understand a personal relationship with the Heavenly Father. A kind, faithful, honest man of great integrity, John's favorite role was as "Paw" to his three grandchildren, and he poured into their lives in so many ways. Surviving are his loving Fay of Frisco, daughters Megan Smallwood (Joe) of Bedford, TX and Jennifer Castro (Les) of Plano; three grandchildren: Dr. Rachel Smallwood Shoukry (George) of Springfield, VA, Cammie Jo Smallwood Hatcher (Sam) of Arlington, TX, and Daniel Smallwood (Krista) of Fort Worth. Also surviving are seven great grandchildren: Tobias and Lorelei

Hatcher, Aiden and Connor Smallwood, and Kyria, Samuel, and Gabriel Shoukry. John is also survived by his sister Barbara Skeens (Doug) of Mt. Carmel, TN and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial service will be conducted by Rev. Bob C. Ross at Ted Dickey West Funeral Home on January 18 at 2:00 p.m. Inurnment will take place at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery in Dallas, Texas at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to FaithfulFriend.org, a Christian ministry placing and training service dogs with military combat veterans and formerly working with incarcerated youth.

The family wishes to thank Padma Soundarraj RN FNP-C of Curate Healthcare, nurses Beth and Monica of AccentCare Home Health, and Natalie, Ann, Ayesha, and Chaplain Bobby of Enhabit Hospice, and the very kind care partners and kitchen staff at Bethesda Gardens Frisco for their gentle and compassionate care