Catharine Ammen Stoner Peaslee, lovingly known as “Kaki,” 96, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on December 8, 2022, from The Glebe where she has resided the last 10 years. The daughter of the late Robert Douthat Stoner and Ivan Plank Stoner, she was born in Fincastle on July 4, 1926, the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
Born and raised in Fincastle, Kaki graduated from Fincastle High School in 1943. She attended Farmville Teachers College and graduated from Mary Baldwin College in 1947 at the age of 20. Kaki taught school in Botetourt, Roanoke and Montgomery Counties where many of her former students remember her fondly to this day. On June 23, 1951, she married Jeremy Cooke Peaslee in a beautiful ceremony in the front yard of her parents’ home at Santillane, in Fincastle. Together they lived in Fincastle, Blacksburg, Jacksonville, Fla., Birmingham, Ala., Kirkwood, Mo., Rapid City, S.D., and Pittsburgh where they lived until his death in June 2012. Kaki loved adventure and traveled extensively with Jerry, both in the US and abroad.
Kaki was a life-long Presbyterian as well as a breast cancer survivor. Her free time was spent being active and she particularly enjoyed tennis, bridge, golf, croquet and bargain shopping. Each winter, Kaki and Jerry would travel south to Florida for some sunshine. They so graciously would host friends and family who highly anticipated their company. Kaki was an active member of the Southern Club of Pittsburgh and served a term as president. She was the last surviving charter member of the Botetourt County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Kaki’s quick wit and infectious smile will be dearly missed.
She is survived by her nephew George E. Holt III and his wife, Betty, of Daleville; her nephew, Robert S. Holt and his wife, Helen, of Surf City, N.C., and their families; as well as sister-in-laws, Susan (Donald) Hutchinson, Fort Meyers, Fla.; Anne Carroll and Linda (Phil) Robinson of Tucson, Ariz., and their families, as well as many cousins who are descendants of Newton and Allie Plank.
A celebration of life will take place at Fincastle Presbyterian Church, 108 East Back Street, Fincastle at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 20, 2022.
The family would like to thank the loving and caring staffs of The Glebe and Good Samaritan Hospice for the kind and attentive care for Aunt Kaki in the last years of her life. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to Fincastle Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 144, Fincastle, 24090 or to The Glebe Benevolent Fund, 200 The Glebe Blvd, Daleville, 24083.
Online condolences may be made to Kaki’s family at www.rader-funeralhome.com/tributes/Catharine-Peaslee.
