Obituary for Dorothy Louise Johnson (Peaks)
Reflections of a Life Well Lived
In the autumn season of 1941, Dorothy Louise Peaks Johnson was born on October 17th in Durham, NC to Hattie Shaw Peaks and Theodore Roosevelt Peaks. She was the 11th child born into a large, loving family that would total 12 offspring (nine daughters and three sons). “Dot,” as she was affectionately called, was educated in the Durham County Public Schools and graduated from Merrick-Moore High School in 1959. In high school, Dot and several of her sisters were star players on the Girls Basketball Team at Merrick-Moore.
Dot fulfilled many roles in her life. She was a devoted wife and loving mother, caring grandmother and godmother, faithful sister and kind aunt, and compassionate friend and thoughtful neighbor. She shared many years of her life with her best friend and soulmate Donald “Wilbert” Johnson, Sr. Their everlasting love story began in the early 1960s and they were married on September 28, 1963. They celebrated their Golden Anniversary (50 years) in September 2013 and their union lasted until Wilbert passed in 2017.
To their union, three children were born: daughter Leslie and two sons Donald Wilbert, Jr, and Leon. Dot and Wilbert were the head of a close-knit nuclear family. They shared much family time with their adult offspring and their spouses and grandchildren. The family worshipped together at Cameron Grove Baptist Church and they regularly had Sunday dinners together. She loved her church family and they were prominent in her life. She served in many different capacities, Deaconess, Advisor of Children’s Choir and Youth Missionary Circle, and was a former member of the JET Echoes. The Johnson Family enjoyed the pleasure of each other’s company. They traveled together and made many vacation memories.
After a long and rewarding career, Dot retired from Duke Hospital after 34 years of service. She worked in the Radiation Oncology Department as an Accounting Clerk. She was destined to pursue a career in healthcare; shortly after graduating from high school, she attended nursing school and later switched career paths, but remaining in the hospital setting. During her retirement years, Dot enjoyed her favorite past-times; shopping, traveling and spending time with family. She especially delighted in making frequent visits to New Jersey, where she visited the families of her nieces Vivian (John) Hanson and Carolyn Hicks-Tyson.
Dot transitioned from earth to her heavenly home on May 18 after a short battle with COVID-19. She was pre-deceased by nine of her siblings: Clora Bell Amos, Luna Mae Peaks Hicks (Donnell, Sr.) Waddell Peaks, Alyce Peaks Little, Lucille Peaks Turner (Jasper), Gertrude Peaks Burnett, Hattie Peaks Mebane, Joe Louis Peaks (Lucille) and Patricia Ann Peaks Jones (George) as well as her loving and supportive father and mother in-law, Thaddeus and Alma Johnson. Her surviving siblings include one sister Barbara Peaks Berry and one brother James C. Peaks, Sr. (Virginia).
The Johnson and Peaks families cherish the memory of our beloved Dorothy. Her legacy will be upheld by her daughter Leslie, sons Donald Wilbert, Jr. (Dawn) and Leon (Monica); granddaughters Brittany (Devon), Brianna, Paige, Jocelyn and Deidra; great grandson Roman; sisters-in law Shirley Satterfield, Jean Arrington, Vivian Johnson, Christine Florence, Artelia Wade (Matthew) and Gayle Bridges (Darrell); brothers-in law Samuel Burnett, Marshall Johnson (Joyce), James (Patricia) and Coston (Merion); aunt Bertha Hart; Godson Rev. Tyrone Alson (Janice); Goddaughters JaKita Turrentine, Toina Coley, Tiffany Little (Fernando) and Janice Curington (Len); and a host of nieces, nephews, and friends.
You may view her funeral service live by going to the Photos/Videos section at the top of this page.
In the autumn season of 1941, Dorothy Louise Peaks Johnson was born on October 17th in Durham, NC to Hattie Shaw Peaks and Theodore Roosevelt Peaks. She was the 11th child born into a large, loving family that would total 12 offspring (nine daughters and three sons). “Dot,” as she was affectionately called, was educated in the Durham County Public Schools and graduated from Merrick-Moore High School in 1959. In high school, Dot and several of her sisters were star players on the Girls Basketball Team at Merrick-Moore.
Dot fulfilled many roles in her life. She was a devoted wife and loving mother, caring grandmother and godmother, faithful sister and kind aunt, and compassionate friend and thoughtful neighbor. She shared many years of her life with her best friend and soulmate Donald “Wilbert” Johnson, Sr. Their everlasting love story began in the early 1960s and they were married on September 28, 1963. They celebrated their Golden Anniversary (50 years) in September 2013 and their union lasted until Wilbert passed in 2017.
To their union, three children were born: daughter Leslie and two sons Donald Wilbert, Jr, and Leon. Dot and Wilbert were the head of a close-knit nuclear family. They shared much family time with their adult offspring and their spouses and grandchildren. The family worshipped together at Cameron Grove Baptist Church and they regularly had Sunday dinners together. She loved her church family and they were prominent in her life. She served in many different capacities, Deaconess, Advisor of Children’s Choir and Youth Missionary Circle, and was a former member of the JET Echoes. The Johnson Family enjoyed the pleasure of each other’s company. They traveled together and made many vacation memories.
After a long and rewarding career, Dot retired from Duke Hospital after 34 years of service. She worked in the Radiation Oncology Department as an Accounting Clerk. She was destined to pursue a career in healthcare; shortly after graduating from high school, she attended nursing school and later switched career paths, but remaining in the hospital setting. During her retirement years, Dot enjoyed her favorite past-times; shopping, traveling and spending time with family. She especially delighted in making frequent visits to New Jersey, where she visited the families of her nieces Vivian (John) Hanson and Carolyn Hicks-Tyson.
Dot transitioned from earth to her heavenly home on May 18 after a short battle with COVID-19. She was pre-deceased by nine of her siblings: Clora Bell Amos, Luna Mae Peaks Hicks (Donnell, Sr.) Waddell Peaks, Alyce Peaks Little, Lucille Peaks Turner (Jasper), Gertrude Peaks Burnett, Hattie Peaks Mebane, Joe Louis Peaks (Lucille) and Patricia Ann Peaks Jones (George) as well as her loving and supportive father and mother in-law, Thaddeus and Alma Johnson. Her surviving siblings include one sister Barbara Peaks Berry and one brother James C. Peaks, Sr. (Virginia).
The Johnson and Peaks families cherish the memory of our beloved Dorothy. Her legacy will be upheld by her daughter Leslie, sons Donald Wilbert, Jr. (Dawn) and Leon (Monica); granddaughters Brittany (Devon), Brianna, Paige, Jocelyn and Deidra; great grandson Roman; sisters-in law Shirley Satterfield, Jean Arrington, Vivian Johnson, Christine Florence, Artelia Wade (Matthew) and Gayle Bridges (Darrell); brothers-in law Samuel Burnett, Marshall Johnson (Joyce), James (Patricia) and Coston (Merion); aunt Bertha Hart; Godson Rev. Tyrone Alson (Janice); Goddaughters JaKita Turrentine, Toina Coley, Tiffany Little (Fernando) and Janice Curington (Len); and a host of nieces, nephews, and friends.
You may view her funeral service live by going to the Photos/Videos section at the top of this page.