Remembering Quintissa Sherri Peake
Quintissa Peake led a life rich in faith, family, and friendship.
The staff of the Center for Rural Strategies pays respect to a friend, a fellow, and a community organizer and volunteer, Quintissa Sherri Peake.
Quintissa Sherri Peake, who turned a life-altering diagnosis into a lifelong mission, died Friday, August 15, at the age of 44.
Known across Kentucky as an advocate for blood donation and for others fighting sickle cell disease, Peake leaves a legacy of strength and perseverance both in her health advocacy, community contributions, and devotion to her faith and family.
“Quintissa’s impact on this community is a consistent reminder to learn more, advocate for yourself and others, and to defy the odds,” said her friend and executive director of Appalshop, Tiffany Sturdivant. “She was a champion for this community and region.”
Peake led a life rich in faith, family, and friendship. Born in Neon, Kentucky, to Steve and Rosa Osley Peake, Peake is remembered as a devoted daughter, sister, cousin, and aunt; as an invested community member; and as a dear, supportive friend. She is survived by her parents, as well as her two sisters, Latesha Osley and Kaitlyn Peake, and nieces and nephews: Sienna, Kynedi, Alyvia, and Stephen.
Peake was born into a large extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was intentional about staying in touch with relatives and connecting through family stories and history, said her cousin, Dr. Ayanna Peake. She lived out her faith in service to others, Dr. Peake said, and that always included her family.
“Family was the essence of who she was,” Dr. Peake said. “She loved fiercely and was fiercely loved by others and by God, and her life was testimony to what that looked like.”
Quintissa and her father at the EKLF award. (Photo submitted)
‘A Sickle Cell Warrior’
Diagnosed with sickle cell disease at 11 months old, Peake’s experience with the disease compelled her to become an advocate for blood donation and sickle cell awareness. Sickle cell disease — also called sickle cell anemia — is a group of inherited disorders that affects the movement of red blood cells throughout the body, and can cause serious medical issues. She shared stories of the childhood ambulance rides from Letcher County to hospitals in Lexington and Louisville, of the family, friends, doctors, and health care providers who supported her along the way, and of the blood transfusions that saved her life. In her lifetime, she received more than 500 blood donations. In interviews, she called herself a “sickle cell warrior.”
Peake was employed at Kentucky Blood Center as a donor support specialist from 2009-2013 and remained a devoted volunteer, said Eric Lindsey, director of media and branding for the Kentucky Blood Center.
“She was one of our finest champions,” Lindsey said.
He recalled a video shoot scheduled in Louisville in the days following the July 2022 flood that devastated East Kentucky and damaged the Peakes’ home. Despite the disaster, Peake showed up in Louisville, three hours away, to appear in the commercial.
“That’s who she was,” Lindsey said. “She was someone who wanted to help other Kentuckians.”
Her faith allowed her to show up even when she wasn’t feeling well, her cousin said.
“She did things even when she was not 100% but she still persisted and did what she needed to and what was in her heart to do,” Dr. Peake said.
After graduating from Jenkins High School, Peake earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky. She was a longtime volunteer with the UK Alumni Association, serving as a member of the association’s Leadership Advisory Council, a past member of its Board of Directors, as well as a former Fayette County Alumni Club and Lyman T. Johnson Constituent Group volunteer. In 2012, she was awarded the UK’s Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award.
Quintissa Sherri Peake (Photo by Malcom J. Wilson)
“She loved the University of Kentucky and wanted to leave it better than she found it,” said Jill Smith, executive director of the UK Alumni Association. “Our volunteers loved working with her and respected her. She was a little bit quiet, but people listened when she spoke. She had no enemies.”
After returning to live in Letcher County, Peake became involved in her local community. She served on the Appalshop board of directors and the Cowan Creek Community Action Group board, as well as the Hemphill Community Center. With Cowan, she led the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast. “Quintissa was moving this work forward in all the right ways,” Cowan leaders posted online this week. “In her honor, with her spirit, we will continue this important work.”
Earlier this year, Peake was awarded the East Kentucky Leadership Foundation’s Carolyn Sundy Award for her community leadership. The award recognizes an East Kentuckian who has made an extraordinary contribution to understanding, inclusion, and social justice in the region
Recently, she worked at the Center for Rural Strategies as a Rural Assembly Fellow, focusing on health advocacy. Teresa Collins, who worked with Peake at Rural Strategies, said Peake had a welcoming nature that made everyone feel at ease.
“She was genuinely interested in people and how she could help make everyone’s life better. She loved her family beyond measure,” Collins said. “I will miss her terribly. The world is a bit dimmer without her light.”
Yet that light lives in those she inspired. Her legacy, says friend and colleague Sturdivant, is raising awareness for sickle cell anemia, driving effective conversations around social and economic development for better opportunities and livelihood for local community members, and being an amazing daughter, sister, auntie, and friend.
“Never letting anyone or anything hold her back,” Sturdivant said. “Strength and perseverance rooted in love. That is the legacy she leaves to all of us.”