Mr, William Truman Peck

William was born in 1929 and was raised in Arenzville, Illinois. They had no electricity in his childhood home; that would come later. In his young life he did a lot of hunting and trapping in the woods, it was in part to help feed and support the family. When he was not in school he worked on his aunt and uncles farm. At times he would help with plowing the fields using two mules to pull the plow shears. He recalled one of the very rare times the animals spooked and he fell through the plowing shears. He was amazed he survived without serious injuries. In school, he became a long-distance runner. He was pretty fast as a runner, and he got the nickname "Whiz" because he was. He enlisted in the USMC, and eventually was stationed in San Diego, California. Here he married and raised seven children. As a father of a growing family he was involved with their activities as Boy Scout leader, Explorer Scout leader, and umpire for both Twin Hills Little League and Girls Softball. William spent most of his working career in law enforcement serving the public, such as Deputy Marshal with the San Diego County Marshal's Office, Supervising Clerk with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, and lastly, Courtroom Judges Clerk with the Superior Court of California, from which he retired from in 1997. William was a good home, do-it-yourself handyman. Among the things he built was a fishing boat in his garage, mostly used to go fishing. He loved traveling, backpacking and camping. He was a big sports fan and liked basketball, football and golf. He did a little acting with the Chula Vista Community Theater in the early 1960's in the stage plays, "Guns, Guitars & Lilly Fortune", "The Tender Trap", and "The Hasty Heart ". William started portraying Mr. Lincoln in 1981 when a friend remarked upon his uncanny resemblance to the five - dollar bill. He asked William if he wouldn't mind coming in to speak as Abraham Lincoln to the kids at his school. That started his life as an Lincoln Presenter and for 33 years it was his passion. William started at the local library, reading books and reacquainting himself with U.S. History. He joined the "Association of Lincoln Presenters". He traveled all over the country doing Mr. Lincoln as a first person portrayal, bringing history alive at special events, state fairs, reenactments, history festivals, libraries, schools, veterans medical centers, retirement homes, churches, eighth and eleventh grade history classes. He did programs in New York, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and California. Over the years he did many programs for San Juan Capistrano Mission and Lincoln's historical connection with the missions. President Lincoln's signing of the document that returned Mission San Juan Capistrano to the Catholic Church on March 18, 1865. He worked 18 yrs. with the Fresno Historical Society's Civil War Revisited at Kearny Park and did programs for the students at schools in the area during the week prior to their reenactment. He spent over 25 years preforming the Gettysburg Address twice a day at National Cemeteries on Memorial Day. President's Day was always spent at the "Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library". His most challenging program and yet the one he was most comfortable with was called, "Lincoln and the 8th. Illinois Judicial Circuit" done in Orange County, Ca. at the Orange County Historical Courthouse. He was a member of SAG and worked in film and television, mainly in historical documentaries and educational films. "Tales of the Gun", "The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth" and "Masked & Anonymous" to name a few. He was a GATE Instructional Expert with San Diego Unified School District. He loved education and history it was just as easy for him to captivate college and high school students as it was the young elementary students. And he especially loved doing Mr. Lincoln for the elementary school age. Over the 33 yrs, William had given out thousands of pennies to our young people. In 2009 marked the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln and the 100th Anniversary of the Lincoln Cent. In recognition of the Bicentennial, a number of specially designed coins were issued by the United States Mint. The 2009 Lincoln Cents featured four different reverse designs, released in approximately three month intervals. The four designs represent different stages from the life of Abraham Lincoln, from his humble beginnings in Kentucky to his Presidency in Washington, DC. William bought the first two in the series by the cases to give out to the children. The real young children he gave first penny that was designed with the reverse that depicts a log cabin to symbolize Lincoln's humble beginnings in Kentucky. The older children he gave the second in the design that the reverse depicts a young Abraham Lincoln taking a break from rail splitting. He sits on a log to read a book and educate himself, with his tools set aside momentarily. William loved to encourage the children to pick up a book and read. He would say them, " you can learn a lot from books". The majority of the pennies he gave out were the 2009 Formative years Lincoln Cent. It was amazing that over the years we met many adults who came up to William to share their story of first meeting him as young children and they would always say, "I still have the penny you gave me Mr. Lincoln". ******* In William's own thoughts and words… "I attended Zuschka School in Arenzville, Illinois, a village of about 400 citizens. Too small to be a town but we had a school. The school was eventually demolished and a wonderful new school, Triopia was born. I graduated from High School in1952 after serving one enlistment in the U. S. Marine Corps. While in the Marine Corps I graduated from Court Reporting School becoming a court reporter in 1948. In 1949 I graduated from the United States Naval School of Justice at Port Hueneme, California. Completion of several academic correspondence courses and community college courses while still in the Corps. You could say that in some ways I had an education similar to Lincoln...a little here and a little there. Leaving the military service and continuing studies, I have accumulated some 40 units at community college, San Diego. My greatest thrills are presenting Mr. Lincoln to children of all ages. At times you get up at 4:30 a.m. to dress, drive a hundred or so miles to the school for the day. The questions enter your mind... why am I doing this. I'm retired. And then you come onto a school campus and when the children see you they besiege you with questions of all kinds. A small child runs over and hugging you, says "I love you, Mr. Lincoln." How can you possibly say no to them. Their minds thirst for more information and you have a great sense of fulfillment in providing that education. For the older students it is so good to be able to teach them what the Civil War and Lincoln are all about. The great patriotism and love for his county, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. How, through much adversity, he rose to every challenge and climbed the ladder to the Presidency of this great country. I hope and pray that I can turn at least one student into a better person when I visit a school. What a challenge that is to me." ******* Mr. Peck passed away on November 3rd. 2015 in San Marcos, Ca. He is survived by his current wife Debra, two older sisters, Rosemere Croxton, Idamae Kilbane and one younger brother Robert Peck. Seven children by a previous marriage Julia, Wesley, Martha, Douglas, Kevin, Rose, and Margaret. Fourteen grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren. William Truman Peck you will be greatly missed. We shall see you again in our Heavenly Home. Jesus said... John 14 (KJV) 1- Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 -In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 -And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Mr, William Truman Peck

December 31, 1929 - November 3, 2015