Peggy Diane Griffin Peyton

Peggy Diane Griffin Peyton, born in Henderson, Kentucky, died at age 79 on March 25, 2022 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is survived by her husband Jerry; sons Christian and wife Erica, and Todd and wife Jennifer; and grandchildren Christopher and Gabriella Johnson and Carter and Jack Peyton. Peggy graduated from Henderson City High School (Henderson, Kentucky) in 1959 and received her bachelor’s degree from Murray State University in 1963. She later pursued graduate work at University of Michigan and Indiana University. Her jobs varied from retail to banking to teaching. In retail, she started out as a clerk at Kohl’s department store and moved up to become the CEO’s secretary in Brookfield, Wisconsin. She worked in the commercial loan department at WSFS Bank in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, but found her heart really beat for teaching. Peggy taught in schools in Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky again, Connecticut, Texas, Indiana again, Kentucky again, and Georgia again. She recognized when students and young faculty needed help, was bold in advocating for them, fostered confidence in them, and helped them achieve their highest potential. Due to frequent moves for Jerry’s work, Peggy seemed to get stuck with the most challenging students at the schools where she taught, and while that was very frustrating to her, it made her an exceptional teacher and she told stories about those kids for the rest of her life. Christian fondly remembers his mother regularly having to defend herself and her boys with mace when being threatened by some crazy characters at the BiLo in El Paso. Jerry reflects on Peggy’s fearlessness about going nose-to-nose with anyone who was in the wrong or who tried to mess with her or her family. Todd recalls having to read a book and pass a Peggy-made quiz on it before being allowed to go play in the summertime. She never had to work, but she did so that her boys could always have the very best of everything. The best advice Peggy gave was “do it right the first time so you don’t have to do it again.” Peggy and Jerry finally settled down in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she made a wealth of friends and played bridge a few times per week with different groups. She volunteered with the Chattanooga Newcomers Club, maintained her membership with the Philanthropic Educational Organization and the National Education Association, and attended weekly Bible Study at Christ United Methodist Church. While Chattanooga became her home and she never desired to live anywhere else, one of the things Peggy loved most was traveling the world with Jerry. While she has visited more places than most, her favorites included: Santorini, Rome, Paris, London, and cruises to just about anywhere. A most memorable event was the time she got to sit in as co-pilot on a float plane tour in Alaska. However, she vowed she’d never return to that one sketchy place where she and Jerry were temporarily held captive by a charlatan in north Africa. After retiring from teaching, Peggy loved spending time with her friends and family. She could most often be found playing cards (and trash-talking her opponents), lunching with her ladies, and demonstrating her tremendous generosity by shopping for her boys (ages 8 to 80). She found the most joy in being Mimi to and doting on her grandsons Carter (10) and Jack (8), and was just getting to know her new grandchildren Christopher (17) and Gabby (15). Peggy is preceded in death by her father Walter Travis Griffin, mother Grace Ella Nunn Griffin, and her infant brothers Walter Keith and Jerry Griffin. Visitation will be 3-7pm on Wednesday, March 30th at Tomblinson Funeral Home in Henderson, Kentucky. The memorial service will be held at Grace Point Church on Thursday, March 31st at 11:00am with visitation beforehand starting at 9:00. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in memory of Peggy Peyton to The Lexington School (Lexington, KY) or Christ United Methodist Church (Chattanooga, TN).