Nancy Jean Goodman Peake passed away shortly after midnight on October 14, 2024 after an exacerbation of chronic illness.

Nancy was born the youngest child and only daughter of William Franklin Goodman and Myrtle Irene Dean Goodman on October 21, 1937 in Marion, VA. Growing up, she was a straight-A student and could do math in her head like nobody else! She was known to never need a calculator, a trait she passed along to her children. According to a childhood classmate, she was thought to be the prettiest girl in school. Her family all felt she stayed the “prettiest girl” until her last day!

She was a wonderful cook with her specialties being traditional southern dishes like corn bread baked to perfection in her big cast iron skillet, pans of baked macaroni and cheese, trays of rich banana pudding, and the the best buttermilk biscuits and gravy you’ve ever had! Her son-in-law, Michael Granger, always told her she should open her own restaurant, but she decided she had enough “business” just cooking for her big family every Wednesday and on holidays. There was nothing like the impressive holiday spreads at her house and if you ever had her chicken and dumplings, you were spoiled for life! No restaurant dishes could ever compete after that!

To know Nancy (really know her!) was to love her. She was a true matriarch and was the glue that held her family together. She was as elegant and graceful as she was tough as nails. Her tough exterior was born from withstanding the hardships of a difficult life, but a soft inside was discovered by the people she let in. She was known for her spunky and quick-witted nature, always at the ready with the perfect quip or one-liner for any given situation and always keeping the people around her laughing and on their toes. She loved family game nights and gatherings. She was fiercely protective of those she loved and always tried to take care of everyone, offering loved ones a place of respite and escape whenever she could.

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, her four older brothers, Robert “Bobby” Goodman, William “Billy” Goodman, Donald Goodman, and Harold Goodman; her eldest son, Gerald Michael “Mike” Peake; grandson, William Brandon Peake; and her lifelong best friend, Nancy “Tudy” Blevins, who she loved like family.

Her legacy of love, hard work, resilience, loyalty, dedication, humor, steadfastness, tenacity, and selflessness will live on in her large, close-knit family who loved her deeply during life and will go on loving her and missing her as long as they are here on this earth, including four of her children; Deborah Jean Peake (Linda), Karen Denise Quinn (David), Teresa Ann Burnett (Richard), and Donald Wayne Peake (Carissa). Her grandchildren, Brett Peake, Shane Peake, Kristen Peake, John Granger (Jessica), Jennifer Granger Pfaffl (Andy), Matthew Granger (Nadia), Nancy Granger Crittenden (Michael), Brian Granger (Meghan), Richard “Ricky” Burnett (Lacy), Daniel Burnett, Debra Burnett Beck, David Peake, Sam Peake; and many great grandchildren.

A private burial will be scheduled at a later date for her family to lay her to rest in her beloved Virginia hills.

We’d like to extend special thanks to Nancy’s daughters-in-law, Carissa Peake and Linda Andrews, and her sons-in-law, David Quinn and Ricky Burnett, who married into our family, but loved and cared for her alongside their spouses like she was their own. We’d also like to thank the staff at Prisma Health Hillcrest Hospital, especially her ER physician, and Foothills Hospice who stepped in with patience and compassion to help Nancy’s family care for her through her final days.

Flowers can be sent to the Palmetto Mortuary 1017 Mauldin Road Greenville, SC 29607. Donations in her memory can be made to The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, to Foothills Hospice, to Safe Harbor Domestic Abuse Treatment Center, or to Dysautonomia International.