Spencer Peck

Spencer J. Peck, 94, of rural Bellevue, Iowa, died Monday August 10 as a result of an early morning fire in his home. A funeral service will be held at 6:00 pm, Friday evening, August 14 at Hachmann Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Bellevue. A visitation for Spencer will be from 4:00 6:00pm, Friday prior to the service at the funeral home. He was born on March 19, 1921, in Wayne County, Iowa, he only child of Corna Jared Peck and H. Spencer Peck. Spencer Jr. was a well-traveled, well and educated explorer and life-long learner--a Cubs fan, a devoted husband, dad, and grandpa. He and his wife, Carmen, who died in January 2015 were well-known in the Bellevue community as high school sports enthusiasts, who attended every Bellevue Comets basketball gamegirls and boysalong with football, baseball, softball and other sports whenever possible. Dubbed BHS #1 fans, they grand-marshalled a homecoming parade in the late 90s. Spencer and Carmen were avid golfers for many years and early members of the Bellevue Golf Club, where they were often seen until he injured his shoulder and could not play. A World War II Navy veteran, he served as a communications officer for the Pacific Fleet, a top-secret clearance to receive and translate the changing codes of mail and transmissions. He traveled to Washington D.C. in 2014 on the Honor Flight, and belonged in earlier ears to the Bellevue American Legion. The years between his birth and the present were rich and varied. During the Great Depression and early years when his father, a railroad employee was reassigned or laid off, the family moved throughout south-central Iowa. As a boy, he delivered newspapers and provided the family with fish from trot lines he set in local rivers, at times a mainstay of the family menu. Spencer played baseball, football, pool, golf, and he bowled. There was not a game or sport at which he was not accomplished. He earned a B.A. in physical education from State University of Iowa in 1943 with a life-long teaching certificate. After graduation, flight school, and intensive training at Harvard University, he became a Naval Lieutenant responsible for top-secret code applications in the Pacific Fleet. He worked a few years as a high school basketball coach and then in Chicago as a legal reporter for more than 10 years. He then attended and completed law school in 1958 from University of Iowa. He passed the bar exams, but returned to accident reporting in Chicago. In 1965, he married Carmen Peck, a high school teacher, his first and only wife. The couple lived several years in Lansing, Iowa, where he owned the Peters Insurance agency and bookkeeping service. He and Carmen began to search for their ideal homesite along the Mississippi, from the Quad Cities to Minnesota. They found their dream setting north of Bellevue. Spence returned to school and earned a masters degree in library science. He worked in Dubuque and Maquoketa Public Schools as a librarian but eventually chose to work at the Dubuque Post Office, from which he retired in 1987. Throughout his life Spencer enjoyed traveling. Before marriage at age 44 he traveled to Worlds Fairs with his father, vacationed throughout the U.S., and attended many Hawkeye sports games. After marrying Carmen, the couple continued the Worlds Fair tradition, drove to Alaska via Canada for a summer vacation, vacationed throughout the US, and drove Clinton Community College students of Carmen for at least two trips to Mexico. The couple spent some summers in the early 1970s in North Carolina where they earned degrees and certifications in library science at East Carolina State. After Carmens health began to decline, Spencer and Carmen could be found at N.A.R.F,E. meetings, countless local events, BHS games, and especially the local restaurants. Spencer continued his life-long practice of eating once a day, at all local and regional restaurants. Any waitress in town would bring him fountain Coke as he came in and got seated. After Carmen went to the nursing home, he devoted time to restoring his lawn from damage, maintaining his two vintage cars, upgrading his electronics, and using his computer. He travelled to Connecticut in 2014 for his granddaughters wedding, several times to visit relatives and for reunions in Corydon, Iowa, and on the Honor Flight. He is survived by a stepdaughter, Carmen Clark (Madison WI), four grandchildren: Robin Clark Bennett (Iowa City), Brian (Minneapolis), Suzanne Clark Kazmerek (Meriden CT) and Ross (Madison WI); and two great-grandchildren, Joseph and Maya Bennett (Iowa City), and an ex-son-in-law, Bruce Clark (Bellevue), two cousinsHarold Peck, 97 (Corydon IA) and Richard Peck (Corydon IA).