From The Daily Republic
Feb. 19, 1952 — Jan. 30, 2010
Tony Rae Gillespie Peers, dear wife of Stephan Peers; caring and loving mother of Daniel, Michael, Stephanie, Cathryn, and Laura; devoted grandmother of Jocelyn and Evelyn; beloved daughter of Barbara and Joel Gillespie of Green Valley; sister of Herb Gillespie of Roosevelt, Utah, and Craig and Curt Gillespie of Green Valley, and “best friend” of all whom she knew, passed away on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010.
Tony’s optimistic attitude touched all she knew. Her spirituality was the core of her essence, and none missed her devotion to the principles of eternal life and the atonement of Jesus Christ.
She graduated from Fairfield High School and received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Brigham Young University. She served in a number of church capacities for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, most recently as an advisor to young single adults throughout the eastern part of Contra Costa County.
Family and friends are invited to the memorial service to be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Moraga Ward, 3776 Via Granada, Moraga, CA 94556. The family will be available to greet guests at 10 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Contra Costa Homeless Program, 597 Center Avenue, Ste. 325, Martinez, CA 94553, Memo: “Calli House” in memory of Tony Rae Peers.
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Dana Todorovic (1968)
On February 19, 1952, all the elements of the cosmos came together as it does on extremely rare occasions and gave birth to Tony Rae Gillespie. It seemed as though God had decided to loan out one of his favorite angels to the miserable souls on the Earth; to cheer us up and make us laugh. For those of us who crossed Tony’s path anytime in the last 58 years or so; we knew we had been extremely lucky.Tony came down with pancreatic cancer in late 2009. From the time of diagnosis to her passing was just a little over a month. According to Craig, her brother, Tony slipped away peacefully surrounded by her beloved family.
Tony's services were held at her LDS church in Moraga. The church was filled beyond capacity. In fact, standing room only. There seemed to be easily over a thousand people in attendance. This speaks volumes to Tony's impact on our little corner of the world.
Tony was a positive force in the universe. Something similar to a super nova. Everywhere she went, adventure was swirling nearby. As expressed by all that spoke at her services, if you spent any time at all with Tony you would be guaranteed a unique and interesting experience of some kind.
Wherever you encountered Tony, you became her friend for life. She was always so excited to see you, every time she saw you. This unconditional love she expressed for everyone made her extremely unique. At her funeral there were many comments made about all the people who only occasionally interacted with Tony and befriended her. This being the UPS guy, the mailman, the grocery clerk and on and on, because she treated everyone as if they were the most special person.
Dr. Craig Gillespie, Tony's younger brother, gave the eulogy at the services. He spoke of Tony's beautiful nature but also of her mischievous side. She was a notorious practical joker. He had many stories of the comical situations that became legend in the Gillespie and Peers households, from the time she was a toddler and throughout her life.
Each of her five children gave moving remarks about their mother. One of her son's told the "egg story.” Tony often put hard boiled eggs in her boy’s lunch for school. One day he was proud to tell her how he cracked them open on the top of his head. The next day he was the object of Tony's classic humor when he cracked open a raw egg on his head. He was nine.
One of Tony's daughter's gave a very poetic tribute about Tony's beautiful blue eyes. Tony had large deep blue eyes that were very hard to miss.
One of Tony's nieces voiced an artfully written romantic tribute by her husband Steve Peers. Herb Gillespie, her older brother, gave the final emotional benediction.
Not to sound cliché, but the world is truly a better place for Tony's time in it. Not only for the five beautiful children who she leaves behind, but also leaving thousands of little joyful moments behind which has enriched so many lives and no doubt will indirectly affect many more to come.