Rebecca Settle Peebles

Rebecca Settle Peebles, passed away peacefully at her home in Williamsburg, Virginia on Saturday, June 22 after visiting over many days with her family and friends. She was 91 years old. Rebecca “Becky” Settle was born on June 8, 1928 in Alberta, Virginia, the second daughter of William Paul and Ruby Settle. She graduated from Alberta High School in 1945, then attended Madison College (now James Madison University). At Madison, she was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and chairman of the Panhellenic Council. After graduating in 1949, she taught elementary school in Richmond, Virginia. At the end of her first day teaching, her principal admonished her, “Rebecca, these kids will attend school this year, next year and for many years to come. You don’t need to teach them everything there is to know in a single day.” After relocating to northern Virginia with her young family, Rebecca taught American history and English in the 1970s at Langley High School, McLean, Virginia. While teaching, she returned to graduate school at George Washington University for master’s degrees in guidance and counseling. A few years after a 24-year marriage to Dr. Arthur McKinley Reynolds, Jr., Rebecca married William S. Peebles, III of Lawrenceville, Virginia in 1980. Until Mr. Peebles’s passing in 1994, they lived happily together in Lawrenceville, Virginia Beach and Naples, Florida. When they weren’t traveling the world or entertaining their grandchildren with exciting trips and games of Scrabble, Rummikub and Kings in the Corner, they enjoyed tennis, boating, extended-family vacations at Sea Island and visiting Peebles department stores. A lifelong lover of American history, Rebecca served as a docent for 20-plus years at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Colonial Williamsburg, as well as at the Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg and the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk. Rebecca was a Masterspoints-caliber bridge player. She played joyfully with friends at Williamsburg Landing, with her family and on numerous duplicate-bridge cruises, where she was frequently among the leading scorers. Rebecca is survived by two children, Mack Reynolds, III (Mary) and Beverly Reynolds Raudabaugh (Joe); four stepchildren, Billy Peebles, IV (Penny), Palmer Peebles Garson (Doug), John Peebles (Susie) and Mary Peyton Peebles; 12 grandchildren, Mack Reynolds, IV (Aimee), Megan Reynolds, Molly Reynolds Osborne (Patrick), Joe Raudabaugh, Rebecca Raudabaugh, Chris Garson (Evyn), Sara Peebles, Elizabeth Garson Koteles (Ari), Heather Garson Welch (Michael), Will Garson, John Peebles, Jr., Bill Peebles; and, five great grandchildren. A woman of deep and abiding faith, Rebecca was a lifetime member of the United Methodist Church and an active parishioner at North Naples Church, Naples, Fl. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Bill Peebles and her sister Christine Settle Pitts. There will be two services celebrating Rebecca’s life on Friday, June 28. The first will be at the Williamsburg Landing auditorium (5700 Williamsburg Landing Drive) at 10:30 am. The second will be at Oakwood Cemetery, 610 W. Fifth Ave., Lawrenceville, Virginia at 3:30 pm. At Rebecca’s request, the recessional at both services will be Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” Williams Funeral Home of Lawrenceville, Virginia will be handling the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make donations to Boys Home of Virginia, 414 Boys Home Road, Covington, VA 24426.