Dorothy Louise (Frazier) Peeples was born to Martha and Clarence Frazier, on March 20, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan.
Dorothy is preceded in death by the following: parents, Martha Frazier, Clarence & Reuh Frazier; husband, Clifton E. Peeples; children, an infant girl, Ronald E. Peeples and Randal C. Peeples; grandson, John R. Herrington; son-in-law Larry Alley; daughter-in-law Ruth Oatman, Dorothy's grandparents and numerous aunts and uncles.
Dorothy is survived by the following: daughters, Dana Alley and Sandy Herrington; son, Scott Peeples; daughter-in-law (and caregiver), Terry Peeples; granddaughters, Debra Auld (Peter John) Jami Wilson, and Amanda Stratman (Christopher); grandsons, James Alley, Joseph Peeples and Jeremy Peeples; great-grandchildren Emmanual Wilson (Samantha), Dakota Wilson, Christian Wilson (Erika), Destiny Wilson (Jason), Colton Nebocat, Cabren Yoder, Conner Peeples, Jackson Peeples, Estes Stratman and Eloise Auld; as well six great-great grandchildren, Brecklyn, Kobi, Pierce, Everleigh, Everett and Bella.
Dorothy's mother, Martha passed away soon after Dorothy was born. Her father, Clarence, moved back to his hometown of Clarksville, Arkansas to raise Dorothy and to be near family. Clarence re-married and Dorothy would continue to be raised by her father and new step-mother, Reuh Frazier. In addition to her parents and grandparents, Dorothy would grow up near numerous aunts and uncles. How wonderful to grow up, and be surrounded by so much family. Always an opportunity for a family gathering, not to mention a whole lot of love passed around with all of those hugs and kisses.
Moving forward, Dorothy graduated from Clarksville High School, and attended the College of the Ozarks. Dorothy then went on to marry Clifton Peeples and they would raise five children together. They began their family in Arkansas and eventually moved to Kansas where they completed, and continued to raise, their family of five children; Ron, Dana, Sandy, Randy and Scott.
As Dorothy's children grew into adulthood she would be blessed with so many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and eventually great-great grandchildren. Pretty amazing! Dorothy would always have time for family, and loved being surrounded by so many at holidays and birthdays!!! At a point their lives, Dorothy, and her husband Clifton, were instrumental in helping to raise two of their grandchildren, Jami and Joe (aka Joey). They thought nothing of it and proceeded to help raise these two little cuties, nurturing them and providing them with much love and care. Although Jami and Joe eventually reached adulthood, Dorothy and Clifton's love endured for them throughout their lives, as did their love for every grandchild that was born before and after them. Jami and Joe quite often speak of how thankful they are to have had them in their lives, as a parent and a grandparent.
Some more about Dorothy ~~
Dorothy worked as a soda jerk at the town drugstore in Clarksville, Arkansas during part of her teen-age years, and mentioned at one point how much fun she had at that job.
She also worked for a period of time at the county courthouse in Clarksville performing clerical work.
Someone once told me that at school dances, or class reunions, Dorothy and Clifton could sure "cut a rug." When asked about it, Dorothy would modestly say that was not the case; however, there are some that would argue otherwise.
While raising her children, if there were ever a spare moment, Dorothy spent time sewing and mending clothes, cooking and baking for her family (the house always smelled delicious); working crossword puzzles, and laying out a jigsaw puzzle on a table to be worked on when time allowed. Those of us kids, who wanted, would pitch in from time to time, working on those puzzles until they were complete.
Dorothy also spent time at her children's baseball and football games, school band concerts, and any other activities that may have been of interest to her children. Whew!
After her children were older, Dorothy worked part-time during some summers at the Internal Revenue Service.
Eventually Dorothy would obtain a job at the Federal Aviation Agency in Olathe, Kansas and would work there as a computer operator until she retired.
Wait, did I say retire – well, not exactly. Dorothy wanted to be busy and when she and Clifton moved to Harrisonville, Missouri, Dorothy began working at the local Wal-Mart store. She did eventually, and completely, retire from the work force and began the next chapter in her life – real retirement.
Wait, there is still more ~~
Dorothy had started bowling before she and Clifton moved to Harrisonville, and she eventually bought herself a bowling ball and joined a bowling league in Olathe. But don't think for a minute that moving to Harrisonville would ever stop her from her weekly bowling night in Olathe. She wouldn't miss it unless she absolutely had to. Dorothy and her fellow bowlers would also travel to participate in many bowling tournaments throughout the years; that is, until everyone's ailing knees and backs became too much, but they all tried to laugh about it until they couldn't. However, until that point in time, Dorothy had bowled well into her 80's!
Dorothy had developed a passion for collecting rocks and stones of all types. Seriously, almost more than any one person could count, but their beauty was such a delight for her. Not only the beauty of the stone, but reading and learning about each stone she had collected and, on many, placing a label by the stone with its name so she didn't have to look it up each time. Eventually, she had memorized all of her favorites. Should you had ever visited Dorothy, and asked about her collection, you know she would proudly bring out what she could at one time, and give you a history lesson on each one.
Additionally, Dorothy loved to listen to music from her era, such as Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and later on a little bit of Elvis and even some Beetles music. There are many other artists, too numerous to mention, but cannot forget to mention all the music that was performed on the Lawrence Welk show. Other means of enjoyment for Dorothy was having her morning coffee, or whenever it may be necessary to have another cup, a dish of ice cream from time to time, a taste of almost any type of baked goods, and particularly all of the traditional Peeples family delights at every holiday meal.
Dorothy also enjoyed just sitting back and enjoying the simple pleasures of watching nature and all its beauty. Such as, watching birds and butterflies, new spring growth, first breezes of summer, changing of the leaves in fall, and the first crisp days of winter, as well as just taking in as much scenery as possible, wherever she may be, but preferably inside, or in the car, otherwise her allergies of any season might give her a fit. Additionally, I would be amiss if I did not also mention that her knowledge of, and passion of reading about, the history of our country was absolutely incredible!
Oh, I cannot leave out how much Dorothy loved Royals baseball. Win or lose, she watched every game she possibly could. And if you were visiting her on game day, remember to stay out from in front of the television.
There are, no doubt, especially after 95+ years of life (almost 96), not to mention an amazing legacy she has left her family, certainly many other stories to tell about Dorothy, but I will leave some storytelling for others now, or just let them enjoy their own memories quietly in their minds.
Even though Dorothy's spirits remained positive, and she may not have wanted to leave us quite as soon as she did, her body became very tired, and Dorothy passed away in the evening hours on Sunday, February 6, 2022 surrounded by family members, at the St. Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Mom, grandma, great-grandma, great-great grandma, we love you, and you will be missed…please tell Dad, Randy, Johnny, Larry, Ron, Ruth and so many others we have lost, how much we love and miss them. Although the two of you have waited a long time, you have by now met Martha. We know they have already welcomed you with open arms, maybe even a new bowling ball, too, but we also find comfort in knowing that you are all watching over us!
Peace and love to you all!!!