Douglas R. Peck, age 91, passed away peacefully at Sunrise Assisted
Living in Cohasset on September 8, 2014. Beloved husband of Phyllis
(Rands) for 71 years. Devoted father of Judith E. Mitchell and husband John of Plymouth, Virginia F. Peck of Lowell,  and Robert R. Peck of Oakland, CA. Proud grandfather of Laura, Timothy, Joshua, Alissa, Schyler and Ian;  and great grandfather of Bobby and Jack.
Mr. Peck, a veteran of WWII, was honorably discharged in 1946 as a First
Lieutenant in the US Army Corps of Engineers. He had built and repaired airfields on Saipan, and was on a troop ship headed for Okinawa when the war ended. He graduated from Penn State as a Civil Engineer, and worked as Chief Engineer for United Clay Mines, later Cyprus Mines, in Tennessee, New Jersey, Belgium, and California before retiring to Massachusetts.
When Douglas was a teenager in Scranton, PA, he worked at a small local airfield in exchange for flight lessons. He once crash landed in a corn field and he saved the broken propeller and took it with him wherever they lived. His grandson, Joshua, now has it displayed at his farm in Maine.
Douglas was always grateful to his Uncle Harry Sampson, a professor at Rutgers, for helping him pay for his first two years at Penn State before the GI Bill paid for the remainder of his degree, after the war.
In retirement, he and Phyllis traveled widely in the US and abroad, even going to China, when it first opened to tourists again, for their 50th wedding anniversary. He said that since he couldn't go into outer space, the next most foreign and exotic place would seem to be China. On the Yangtze River, he said the people would point at his nose and stare and the children would laugh at the 'Long Noses.'
He was a member of the Cohasset Rotary and The Old Goats, which he said was a Hunt Club because they hunted for the cheapest red wine at local restaurants to have with their luncheons. He assisted Phyllis with many Garden Club of Cohasset projects, including creating the blueprint for the Lighthouse Keeper's Garden. Doug and Phyllis regularly enjoyed live theatre; in fact, they met at Penn State while performing in a play titled, Love Rides the Rails, Or Will the Mail Train Run Tonight. Douglas also loved classical music and they would often go to the Boston symphony. He had a curious mind and enjoyed reading and learning about many different subjects.
When his family was younger he took them on skiing trips and two wonderful hiking trips in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He also participated in his son, Bob's, Indian Guides and Scout troop activities.
He was an excellent carpenter and always had a wood shop wherever they lived. In Cohasset, he created a third garage bay to house his carpentry shop. He enjoyed building furniture and other useful objects: benches, tables, bookshelves, plant stands, etc. Whatever his family or the community needed, he loved having building projects.
Doug was an engineer through and through, liking the challenge of solving problems to make things work better or more efficiently. He also participated in his daughter, Virginia's, fine art business, building the wooden panels and frames that she used for her paintings. Also in retirement, he took on some very difficult building projects at Virginia's Victorian home in Newton Highlands, like detaching the basement stairs and making a larger landing and then reattaching it all again, and partially rebuilding one of the side porches that had been compromised by carpenter ants. He also designed and helped build a large deck on the back of Judy and John's house, and gave son Bob building help in California, too.
Doug had initially studied architectural design at Penn State before he switched to engineering, feeling that was a safer and more practical field. But the design training came in handy, because he designed clay
processing plants and administrative buildings for United Clay Mines and then Cyprus Mines Corp. Phyllis and Doug hired an architect to build their home in Princeton, NJ, and even though the design won awards, it was never satisfactory to Doug. So when they lived in Martin, TN, Douglas designed a lovely,
efficient home that fitted them perfectly, and didn't have any leaking
skylights!
While in Palos Verdes, CA, Phyllis and Doug took sailing and navigation courses and bought a sailboat. They enjoyed taking friends and family out for sails on the Pacific, but because they loved traveling and seeing new things, they never replaced the boat when they moved East. In Cohasset, Doug volunteered to drive seniors to their doctor appointments, shopping trips or to hospital visits. During the garden club's Holiday House Tours, he drove people to the different houses. He and Phyllis would sometimes serve at Father Bill's in Quincy during holiday times. Douglas was always generous with his time, talents and support for his family and the community, and he will be missed.
A memorial service will be celebrated on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 12 noon in the Second Congregational Church, Highland Avenue, Cohasset, MA 02025. Relatives and friends are invited. In lieu of flowers, donations to honor Douglas may be made to The Second Congregational Church, or the charity of your choice

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