Joanna Nichols Peabody, 90, died peacefully at home in Auburn, NH on April 21, 2018.
She was born in New York City on October 31, 1927, to Edwin Pemberton Taylor, Jr., and Elizabeth Williams (Nichols) Taylor. She was the beloved wife of the late Berkley Peabody; beloved mother of five children: Sarah Turnbaugh of Wakefield, RI; the late Moses Peabody of Auburn, NH; Samuel Peabody of Peabody, MA; Persis Robbins of Haverhill, MA; and Mary Richards of Reading, MA; grandmother of five: Harry Robbins III, Joanna Robbins, Nancy Killam, Laura Richards, and Ellen Richards; and proud great-grandmother of Owen Killam and Benjamin Robbins; also survived by her sister Susan Taylor of Urbana, IL, whom she taught to read and play the piano, and by nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was predeceased by five siblings, Anna Slocum Tracy; Edwin Pemberton Taylor, III; Olivia Brewster Travis, twin brother Benjamin Nichols Taylor, and John Williams Taylor.
“Josie” graduated with honors from West Side School in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. She attended the University of Vermont, Hunter College, and Ambler School of Horticulture (now part of Temple University). She brought innovative farming approaches home from Ambler and from Malabar Farm (OH) to Homestead Farm. Throughout her life, she grew fresh fruit and vegetables and beautiful flowers, with something always in bloom. Her family fondly remembers her Concord grape jam [from the grapevine she planted at Federal Court] and the gingersnaps made from scratch but different every time. In recent years Joanna knitted hundreds of scarves donated to New England charities.
She retired from the Town of Marblehead, where she worked at the Mary Alley Hospital and then Abbott Hall, where her desk sat under the Spirit of Seventy-Six.
She was a direct descendant of Samuel Skelton, first minister of the First Church in Salem—which she learned of after moving to Salem with her family in the 1950’s; Salem sea captains John White, Ichabod Nichols, and Jerathmeel Peirce; and Salem “witch” Susannah Martin. Joanna loved cats and always had her black cat Shadow by her side.
Burial is being managed by Peabody Funeral Homes of Derry, NH. Services will be private. A celebration of Joanna’s life will be held at a later date. Contributions in Joanna's memory may be made to the Auburn (NH) Historical Association. To send a condolence or for more information, please visit www.peabodyfuneralhome.com