Stanley J. Peck

Norfolk – Stanley J. Peck told his last joke on Sunday, September 13, shortly after celebrating his 91st birthday and his 70th wedding anniversary.

He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 24, 1935, and moved to Norfolk, Virginia, when he was 10 years old. He was quick to make friends, which was a lifelong talent. His presence and his sense of humor brought a smile to whoever was in the room with him. He never knew a stranger and amazingly, those strangers somehow remembered him.

Stanley attended Camp Skylemar in Naples, Maine, in its inaugural year and won its most coveted title of the first winning Color War captain. While attending Georgia Tech, he fell in love with his fraternity’s sweetheart, Nancy Mendel, and decided to marry her after his father bought her an engagement ring. He served as a 1st Lieutenant in the Army for two years, then returned to Portsmouth, Virginia, where he joined the family business, Peck Iron and Metal.

He was always dreaming up new ideas. Some were misses—like Bessie’s Place, a farmers’ market on the site that is now Harbor Park, but others did better, most notably The Boathouse, which became one of the region’s most iconic concert venues of the 1980s and 1990s.

He was predeceased by his parents, Bess and Julius Peck, his brother David Peck, and sister, Honey Verschleisser. He is survived by his brother Aaron (Carol) Peck, wife Nancy Peck, daughters Janet (Jeff Kramer), Linda (Barry Friedman), and sons Paul (Stephanie) and Larry; grandchildren Zachary, Aaron (Kate Belleman), Jessie Brenner, Ilana (Meir) Leibler, Elli and Ethan Friedman, Devorah (Reuven) Zinn, Jonathan, Audrey, and Caleb Peck; and four great-grandchildren Cyrus and Addie Brenner and Noam and Dovi Zinn, a host of loving cousins, nieces, and nephews, and his cherished lifelong friends who remain.

A graveside funeral was held at B’nai Israel Cemetery with Rabbi Aron Margolin and Rabbi Levi Brashevitzky officiating.

In honor of Stanley, tell a joke, make someone smile or make a donation to Chabad of Tidewater or charity of your choice. HD Oliver Funeral Apts.