By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JAN. 22, 2019 | Deaths seem to come in bunches. In the last week or so, we’ve been to two funerals, had a funeral conflict with another and missed one. All four of the recent deceased made a lasting impression on us, and on Gwinnett County.
Boyd Duncan, of Duluth was my good friend, and it’s amazing that we got along, since we often were on opposing sides. But we respected each other’s opinions. We were similar in many ways, both born to a farm life, he in Northern Alabama, me in Middle Georgia. Both were the first of our families to graduate from college, Boyd from Georgia State (GSU), me from Mercer.
Both of us were in the military, Boyd in the Navy, me in the Army. I first met Boyd the year after the Gwinnett Rotary was founded. Boyd was a charter member. Boyd and I cooked oysters for Rotary for 38 years. We will miss him this March.
A few things about Boyd: you may not know he was an expert on bananas, from his first job working in importing them to this country. He was also a founder of the Sigma Nu chapter at GSU, along with Gwinnett’s late J.D. Caswell.
Boyd was super successful as a Realtor and broker, having his own agency, and was the founding president of the Gwinnett Association of Realtors. In the 70s, he was involved with many key activities in the county, the Chamber, Quality Growth Council, Boys and Girls Club, to name a few.
In his retirement, lately at The Parc in Duluth, Boyd Duncan was friendly, happy and content! What a good friend!
Others we will sorely miss who have died recently:
Jim Wilbanks, 76, the mayor of Dacula. A native of the area, retired from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, he was for 17 years the mayor Dacula. He was a member of Hebron Baptist Church.We forged a friendship with him during the Dacula Centennial Celebration. We saw close-and-up-front his love for his city. He was always helpful when seeking stories from Dacula, and had the good habit of returning his telephone calls. That says a lot about a person.
Richard (Dick) Deacon, 80, of Lawrenceville we met at St. Edward’s Episcopal Church when first coming to Gwinnett back in 1974. He and his wife of 57 years, Sybil Pate Deacon, and their daughter, Leah, were already attending the church. Leah now lives with her husband, Eric Williams, and three children in Hamilton Mill.
Dick graduated as a horticulturist, and worked in that field for a while. However, his real talent was as a certified counselor. Dick was also a creative person, cooking, drawing and working with natural materials. He for years had multiple sclerosis, but being in a wheelchair didn’t stop him.
Donn M. Peevy, 69, of Lawrenceville, was a former state senator and attorney in Gwinnett. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Jerrie Lynn Corley Peevy, two daughters and four grandchildren.
Donn began his law enforcement work as a Gwinnett County police officer, eventually the head of the Vice Intelligence Division. For three years he was a legislative assistant to U.S. Congressman Ed Jenkins in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, he was studying for his law degree, and for 37 years was a criminal, civil domestic and appellate attorney. He served from 1982 to 1990 as a Gwinnett state senator from the 48th District.
Boyd Duncan; Jim Wilbanks; Dick Deacon; and Donn Peevy: May you rest in peace.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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