Deborah Ann (Waldron) Peckitt, 71, of Foxfire Village, died before dawn on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, with her loving husband, Guy, by her side.
The only daughter of Edward and Eileen (Berte) Waldron, Deb grew up in Pittsfield, Mass. She attended Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass., and became an art teacher at Notre Dame Academy in Worcester. Her grand adventure with Guy began, and she joined him in California in the early 1980s.
In California, Deb taught high school art in Thousand Oaks and Inglewood. Deb taught hundreds of students the fundamentals of the fine arts, particularly painting and photography, and she pursued lessons for herself to perfect her craft. The onset of environmental illness meant she had to limit her medium to watercolors, and she learned to coax brilliant, vibrant colors from her paintbox, in both representational and abstract paintings. Her extended family are all fortunate to have her paintings in their homes.
At the turn of the century, Deb and Guy returned to the East Coast, settling in Worcester, Mass., for about a decade before retiring to Foxfire in 2010. Deb loved the warmth and sunshine of North Carolina. She was a member of a book club and a garden club, she participated in water aerobics and attended BATS events with Guy and the Morris Minor.
Deb continued to take painting courses, finishing her final piece just last weekend. She and Guy enjoyed extensive travel and frequents jaunts to concerts and visits to far-flung friends and family.
We will remember Deb not only for her artistic creativity and love of fun but also for her dedication to liberal political and social causes.
She is survived by her husband, Guy; her sister-in-law, Susan Peckitt and husband, Kent Koeninger, of Greenfield, Mass.; her brother-in-law, Fred Peckitt and his wife, Karen Peckitt, of Wildwood, Mo.; two nieces, three nephews; three grand-nieces and four grandnephews.
There will be memorial service at Boles Funeral Home, 221 MacDougall Drive, in Seven Lakes, at 3 p.m., Friday, July 26. Friends and family will have the opportunity to reminisce and tell stories, so prepare a few words if you wish.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to Planned Parenthood, Feeding America, or your local food bank or dog shelter.
Online condolences may be made at www.BolesFuneralHome.com.
Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Seven Lakes.