Margaret Virginia Peak

09/30/1927 - 01/11/2026

Margaret Virginia Peak, a woman of tireless energy and vitality, died January 11, 2026 at her home in Columbia, Maryland. Born September 30, 1927, on her family's farm in Landover, Maryland, Margaret was the daughter of Richard Jesse and Grace Virginia (Taylor) Chaney.
She came of age during the Second World War, entering the workforce at just 16 to support the war effort as a part-time clerk at the U.S. General Accounting Office. It was there, amid the bustle of wartime Washington in 1945, that she met a young colleague named Bob Peak. The two were married two years later, beginning a partnership that would span decades and center on the family they raised in Hyattsville.
While Margaret paused her career to raise her four children, her return to the workforce in 1967 revealed her innate gift for human connection. As a drive-in teller for Citizens Bank of Maryland, first in Hyattsville and later in Annapolis, she became a local fixture. Her "regulars" were known to bypass open windows, choosing instead to wait in long lines specifically for the pleasure of her conversation.
In retirement, Margaret traded the teller window for the walking paths of Cape St. Claire, where she was a familiar sight on her daily five-mile treks and she poured her creativity into her prize-winning gardens.
Her move to Clarksville in 2010 marked a new chapter of community rather than a
slowing down. A devotee of the Columbia Gym, she remained a mainstay of Aqua-
Fitness classes until the age of 96. To her younger classmates, she was more than a peer; she was a quiet testament to the rewards of an active, disciplined, and joyful life.
Margaret was preceded in death by her husband, Robert A. Peak, and her daughter, Lorraine Virginia Garner.
Survivors include three children, Dona Peak Oldfield (Henry) and Joan Renee Driessen (Patrick), both of Columbia, and Robert A. Peak Jr. (Jennifer) of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia; eleven grandchildren; and eleven great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, January 24 at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 12700 Hall Shop Road, Highland, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Mark's Episcopal Church.