Penelope Banks Peck

Penelope Banks Peck passed away peacefully on August 7, 2024 at her home in Chatham, MA overlooking her favorite view with her family by her side. Penny fought a valiant 29-month battle against glioblastoma and, in the process, taught everyone around her lessons on resilience, love, kindness, and gratitude. When given a terminal diagnosis on March 1, 2022, Penny chose to fight. She loved to laugh, to sing, to dance, to drink wine, and to eat good food. She loved to play golf and go out on her boat. Most importantly she loved her family and her friends.

Penny was born on June 26, 1947 in Bay Shore, NY as the only child of Charles Oliver Banks and Dorothy Greenwood Banks. Penny enjoyed her time growing up in Bay Shore and sailing her Beetle Cat at Bayberry Yacht Club. Penny graduated from the Dana Hall School in Wellesley MA in 1965. She was a very good student, loved to sing in their choir, and was voted class clown and biggest bluffer in her senior year yearbook. After Dana Hall School, Penny went to Colby Sawyer Jr College for two years and then graduated from Wheelock College in 1969 with a BS in elementary education.

It was in Bay Shore where Penny met the love of her life, Schuyler V Peck, at the age of 16 on July 15, 1963 at a dance at the Babylon Yacht Club after sailing in a regatta. They fell instantly in love and were married on August 24, 1968 at her family’s home in Bay Shore, NY. They moved to the Cardigan Mountain School in 1970 where Schuyler became a teacher and where Penny taught second grade in the Canaan elementary school. They started their young family at the school with the arrival of their daughter, Nicole, and son, Jason.

At Cardigan Mountain, Penny became a beloved dorm mom to the boys in her care, baking chocolate chip cookies and brownies for them and helping with their homework. She was also the biggest fan of their hockey team, coached by Schuyler. Penny and Schuyler moved to Leominster, MA in 1982 when Schuyler started coaching hockey at Cushing Academy and Penny was a substitute teacher. In 1987 they moved to Acton, MA at which time they also built their home in Chatham and began to spend time at a family home in Naples, FL.

Penny cherished time in Chatham where she loved boating, golf, and watching her grandchildren race their sailboats. Penny read two newspapers daily and loved a good glass of wine and chocolate cake. She loved life and making people laugh. Penny was always seeking to give back to others. She ran the Acton Food Pantry for 12 years and, in Naples, volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club and at the Shelter for Abused Women and Children.

Her greatest joy was time spent with her grandchildren. In addition to her husband, Schuyler, Penny leaves her daughter Nicole Peck Bartlett (Marshall) of Wayland, MA, and their four children, Schuyler, Chad, Brooke, and Sam; and her son, Schuyler Jason Peck (Corey) of Avon, CO, and their daughter Bia. Penny absolutely loved being a grandmother and never missed a theater performance, chorus concert, art show, hockey game, lacrosse game, figure skating competition, or sailing race.

The Peck family wishes to thank Dr. Deborah Forst and her team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for their extraordinary care. A memorial service was held on August 12, 2024 at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church 625 Main Street in Chatham, MA.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the The Penelope B. Peck Brain Cancer Research Fund at Mass General ( https://giving.massgeneral.org/donate/penny-peck ) at Massachusetts General Hospital: 125 Nashua Street, Suite 540 Boston, MA 02114-1101. Phone: 617-726-2200. Email: mghdevelopment@mgh.harvard.edu