It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye for now to a loving husband, father, and kind soul to all.
Dr. Ronald Hubert Peeler, MD, age 71, went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on January 24, 2024, after an acute illness, with family by his side. He leaves behind his beloved wife of 30 years, Paige Amber Caldwell Peeler, son Grayson Aaron Peeler, daughters Danielle [Elle] Corcoran (Matt), and Brittany Anne Geraci (Chris), granddaughters Laci and Emma, stepsisters Teresa Lynn, Debbie Apjohn (Jeff), and Tana Ables (Tom), mother-n-law Bea Attardi (Richard), father-in-law Larry Caldwell (Lois), extended family members, and his faithful dog Barkley.
Ron was preceded in death by his father, Hubert Houser Peeler; his mother, Nina Cline Peeler; his stepmother, Carolyn Peeler; his brother, George Cletus Peeler; his step-brother, Gary Lynn; his beloved grandmother, Lila Mae Houser Peeler; his grandfather, George Murphy Peeler; his grandparents, Cletus Ambrose Cline and Maude Isabelle Wright; and other extended family members.
Ron was born in Lincolnton, NC, in 1952. He spent summers during his youth traveling across the United States and other countries with his dad. Ron enjoyed local and deep-sea fishing, boating, and water skiing. He loved to build a good fire in the fireplace for his family on cold nights and was an avid reader. He enjoyed snow skiing with his family in the Colorado and NC mountains, passing on the love of snow sports to his son from a very young age.
Dr. Peeler attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a B.A. degree and played the drums in the marching band. He attended Wake Forest University Bowman Gray School of Medicine, earning the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1981, and received a research award from the Department of Neurology. He completed postgraduate training at East Carolina University School of Medicine and Pitt County Memorial Hospital. Subsequently, Dr. Peeler became Board Certified in Emergency Medicine. He joined Hickory Emergency Physicians and worked at Frye Regional Medical Center, where he met his wife, Amber. Dr. Peeler had extensive knowledge in the medical field, working in emergency departments, urgent care, occupational and environmental medicine, family practice, and pharmaceutical research, to name a few. He served as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor for UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Ron was kind-hearted and intelligent, and never met a stranger. It was important to him to treat his patients like his own family and do his absolute best to help people wherever he could. He worked throughout NC, SC, and TN during his 42-year career, finally retiring in Davidson, NC, where he and his wife, Amber, and son, Grayson, had lived for 14 years, until the family recently moved to Troutman, NC.
Ron shared a love of space exploration with his son, Grayson, who has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and is beginning grad school at NC State. To carry out Ron’s plans and honor his wishes, a portion of his cremated remains will be launched into space from Cape Canaveral in an individual capsule on the Mission Serenity Flight, where he will remain for years to come. A memorial service will be held there at that time with the family.
My dear beloved Ron, may you have the peace you so deserve. May you rest in the loving arms of God. My heart was made full the day we met and was broken the day you left this earth. I am heartbroken, but I know that I will see you again when it is my time. I will carry on here, loving those left behind, but with a longing to be with you again one day. You are the love of my life, my soulmate, and I’ve loved you for a thousand years. You will forever be my always.
