Mr. Peachey was born Oct. 10, 1918, in Elk Lick Township, Pa., son of the late Shem and Salome Bender Peachey and the second of 10 children. He grew up on an Amish-Mennonite farm in Springs, Pa.
After attending college at Eastern Mennonite School in Harrisonburg, he married Ellen Shenk in 1945. That fall, he was invited by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to serve on its postwar emergency relief staffing in Belgium and Germany. In 1951, the Peacheys moved to Switzerland, where Mr. Peachey received his doctorate in sociology from the University of Zürich. From 1957 to 1960, the Peacheys lived in Tokyo, where Paul worked for the MCC postwar peace-building effort.
After returning to the U.S., the Peacheys moved to Washington, D.C., their home for the next 25 years. Paul continued his work for peace and reconciliation. In 1967, he was invited to join the sociology faculty at The Catholic University of America, teaching there until his retirement in 1987. Throughout these years, he participated in both academic and ecumenical bridge-building efforts with Eastern Europe.
In the 1970s and '80s, Paul and Ellen were two of the founding members of the Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community, a religious retreat center in Charles Town, W.Va., and in 1987 became the first permanent residents of the community.
In 2001, Mr. Peachey and his wife moved to the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, where they spent the remaining years of their lives. Ellen preceded him in death on April 26, 2012.
Surviving are four children, Janet Peachey of Washington, D.C., Carl Peachey and wife, Kate, of Key West, Fla., George Peachey of Silver Spring, Md., James Peachey and wife, Teresa, of Silver Spring, Md.; and four sisters, two brothers, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Mr. Peachey was preceded in death by his wife, Ellen; a daughter, Barbara Anne Piekarski; two sisters and a brother.
A memorial service will be held at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012, at 3 p.m. to be followed by a time of sharing and remembrance.
Mr. Peachey was born Oct. 10, 1918, in Elk Lick Township, Pa., son of the late Shem and Salome Bender Peachey and the second of 10 children. He grew up on an Amish-Mennonite farm in Springs, Pa.
After attending college at Eastern Mennonite School in Harrisonburg, he married Ellen Shenk in 1945. That fall, he was invited by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to serve on its postwar emergency relief staffing in Belgium and Germany. In 1951, the Peacheys moved to Switzerland, where Mr. Peachey received his doctorate in sociology from the University of Zürich. From 1957 to 1960, the Peacheys lived in Tokyo, where Paul worked for the MCC postwar peace-building effort.
After returning to the U.S., the Peacheys moved to Washington, D.C., their home for the next 25 years. Paul continued his work for peace and reconciliation. In 1967, he was invited to join the sociology faculty at The Catholic University of America, teaching there until his retirement in 1987. Throughout these years, he participated in both academic and ecumenical bridge-building efforts with Eastern Europe.
In the 1970s and '80s, Paul and Ellen were two of the founding members of the Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community, a religious retreat center in Charles Town, W.Va., and in 1987 became the first permanent residents of the community.
In 2001, Mr. Peachey and his wife moved to the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, where they spent the remaining years of their lives. Ellen preceded him in death on April 26, 2012.
Surviving are four children, Janet Peachey of Washington, D.C., Carl Peachey and wife, Kate, of Key West, Fla., George Peachey of Silver Spring, Md., James Peachey and wife, Teresa, of Silver Spring, Md.; and four sisters, two brothers, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Mr. Peachey was preceded in death by his wife, Ellen; a daughter, Barbara Anne Piekarski; two sisters and a brother.
A memorial service will be held at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012, at 3 p.m. to be followed by a time of sharing and remembrance.
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