City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Shirley Johnson Peay
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 80.
Died 03/12/2026.
Shirley was born in Wilmington, NC, to George and Hazel Johnson on April 20, 1945. Her childhood included tree climbing, beach adventures, and marching in the New Hanover High School band. She attended the then East Carolina College, graduating with a degree in history and political science.
Shirley and her husband, Dwight, met during their teenage years and were married on June 30, 1968, at Sunset Park Baptist Church. They spent time in Maryland, where Shirley taught school before the two returned to North Carolina. She worked at NC State University libraries while Dwight completed his education.
After Dwight’s NC State graduation, they moved to Winston-Salem and then to Charlotte, spending weekends sailing on the lake. In 1979, the opportunity arose to move back to Wilmington to be near family.
Shirley devoted her early years of motherhood to family and home, and later returned to work as a preschool teacher. She and Dwight opened an amateur radio retail store, with Shirley managing the day-to-day operations while Dwight kept his full-time job. The shop became a true family business, with everyone pitching in on sales, marketing, and even radio repair. In time, the business expanded into computers and cell phones, with Shirley’s hands in every aspect — all while holding her family together and keeping a home.
Shirley did it all. She had Mom’s Taxi (the Low Flying Van). She was a den mother, choir mom, brownie leader, coach’s wife, line dancer, Hardee’s breakfast groupie, PTA mom, band mom, and maybe her favorite work and passion – Nana.
She loved being Nana to six grandchildren – three granddaughters followed by three grandsons. She was active in their lives from birth through her most recent days. In retirement, she and Dwight made their home in Fuquay-Varina, a place with enough space for the whole family to sit around the table and be together. They joined Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church and found dear friends through the Wesleyan Class, who became faithful companions in these latter years.
Shirley is survived by her husband, Dwight M. Peay, Jr., of the home; son Dennis Peay, his wife Michelle, daughter Natasha, and son James, of Kinston; daughter Elizabeth Todd, her husband Leslie, daughter Natalie, and son Luke, of Fuquay-Varina; daughter Sarah Baxter, her husband Jeff, daughter Bailey and her fiancé Chayson Bass, and son Wyatt, of Willow Springs; and her brother, George Robert “Bob” Johnson and his wife Ann, of Greensboro. Shirley was preceded in death by her father, George Robinson Johnson, and her mother, Hazel Lanier Johnson.
The family will receive friends Saturday, March 21, 2026, at 1 PM, followed by a Service of Death and Resurrection celebrating Shirley’s life in the Centrum of Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church at 2 PM.
In gratitude for the prayers, support, and friendship of the Wesleyan Class, staff, and friends of Fuquay-Varina United Methodist, please send memorial gifts to FVUMC in lieu of flowers. FVUMC, 100 S. Judd Parkway SE, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526, or online: https://fvumc.org/give.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home offers Alkaline Hydrolysis. The Alkaline Hydrolysis process uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.