Ronald Peck

RONALD PECK

Cedar Rapids

Ronald J. Peck, a former Cedar Rapids resident who had a 37-year career as a sales executive for Maytag Corp. in the Northeast, died Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014, of natural causes at a Blue Bell, Pa., hospice. He was 82. A memorial service will be Nov. 21 at Immaculate Conception Church. Family and friends will gather for remembrances in the back of the church at 8 a.m. A Mass will be said at 9 a.m., followed by burial at St. John's Cemetery and a reception at the church.

Mr. Peck was born in Chicago on May 11, 1932, and moved to Cedar Rapids while a teenager. He graduated from the old Immaculate Conception High School in 1950 and from Coe College in 1954. He earned academic honors at both schools, including Phi Beta Kappa at Coe, and starred on their basketball teams.

Mr. Peck married his high school sweetheart, Marilyn Machacek, of Cedar Rapids, who preceded him in death, as did his parents, Hollis and Eleanor Peck of Cedar Rapids, and a sister, Jean Hasbrouck of Guthrie Center.

Mr. Peck was among a group of Cedar Rapids high school standout athletes encouraged by Coe athletic officials in the early 1950s to attend Coe instead of going to a larger school.

Mr. Peck played forward on the 1953-54 Coe team that shared the Midwest Conference championship with Carleton College. It was only the second time since the conference was formed in the 1920s that Coe had won the title. The Coe team also advanced to the runner-up spot in the regional NAIA tournament for small colleges that year.

While at Coe, Mr. Peck enlisted in the Air Force ROTC program and was commissioned second lieutenant upon graduation. He also was a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon fraternity.

Throughout his long career with Maytag, Mr. Peck managed Maytag's sales operations in the metropolitan areas of Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He won several awards for his work as regional and division manager.

Mr. Peck is survived by five children: son, Christopher (Ana) of Lansdale, Pa., daughter, Julie Fuqua (Bill) of Lincoln, Calif., son, John (Nicole) of Colchester, Conn., daughter, Barbara Baltz (Thomas) of Lebanon, Conn., and daughter, Leslie Gardner (Mark) of Pittsburgh; a sister, Marge Deal of Cedar Rapids; 15 grandchildren: Amanda, Kristin, Gregory Peck; Justin, Jonathon and Elyse Fuqua; Alex, Allison, John Paul and Nicholas Peck; Kyle, Ellen and Matthew Baltz, Courtney and Derek Gardner; and five great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be directed to the Ronald J. Peck Fund of the Alzheimer's Association, 399 Market St., Suite 102, Philadelphia, PA 19106.