Early this morning, June Peach passed away in her home in Alexandria. The Town Talk rightfully defines Ms. Peach as a humanitarian, which, in my opinion, is about the best possible thing one could ever say about someone else, and in the case of Ms. Peach, it’s not an exaggeration; it’s the truth: June Peach was a real humanitarian.
For much of her life, June Peach fought for the rights of the disabled, the elderly, and the infirm. She helped provide disabled people with jobs and opportunities. She championed places like the Friendship House, which cares for mentally-challenged adults during the day. She was relentless and passionate, and she leaves behind a remarkable legacy.
My deepest condolences to the entire Peach family. On a personal note, as someone who has lived with a physical disability for my entire life, I am profoundly grateful for Ms. June. I first met her when I was a small child, and I’ve been inspired by her ever since. To her son John Henry, without any doubt, the thoughts and prayers of an entire community are with you and your family. Your mother championed many things in her life, but she cherished you. She held parades in your name, and in so doing, both of you taught our entire community about accepting and celebrating people with mental and physical challenges.
CenLamar 
Thanks, Lamar, for your note. June was a true saint ~ she had a tremendous grasp on the connection between faith, hope, and charity, and she overflowed with all three. She honored me from time to time with a letter asking about an agency, an issue, or a problem in the community. Always, her focus was ‘What can we do about this?’ or ‘How can we make this better?’ We agreed more often than not, but even if we saw things differently, she made me (and countless others) feel that she genuinely valued our friendship.
Every contact with her was a positive and happy one.
Alex
When I was a younger man, I had the pleasure of representing The Management Company (June and John Peach’s nursing home company) in several litigated matters. While I didn’t get to know either of them very well, I can speak to the character by which they dealt with people, which was of the highest order. Unlike some in the industry, the Peaches were unwilling to place profit over doing what was right.
She was an extremely nice person.