Gary Craig Peacock, born at Greene County Hospital on Sept. 13, 1939, died at the hospital on Feb. 10, 2014, at the age of 74.
Graveside services at the Jefferson Cemetery will be held at a later date.
Gary Peacock was the first child and only son of Craig and Vivian Jackson Peacock, who farmed near Grand Junction at the time he was born. The family moved to Jefferson in 1950, where Craig Peacock operated a tavern on the courthouse square.
Gary’s mother was a member of the local Jackson clan, a pioneer family for whom Jackson Hill at the southwest edge of Jefferson is named.
Gary enjoyed a typical small-town boyhood growing up in Jefferson in the early 1950s. He fished in Raccoon River (cooking doughball in his mother’s kitchen–much to her dismay), learned to tie fishing flies, played hockey with tree branches and tin cans on the ice rink in Russell Park, rigged a motor on his bicycle, trapped beaver and other small animals and went into business raising night crawlers and rabbits for sale.
As a teenager, he acquired an old Ford, tinkered with it endlessly and pushed it more often than he drove it, according to one of his high school pals. He also played the cornet in the high school band.
With his mischievous sense of humor and tentative smile, Gary had a remarkable ability to make friends, and his high school buddies, who gave him the nickname “Kong,” remained his friends throughout his life. He was a confirmed bachelor.
A 1957 graduate of Jefferson High School, Gary attended Northwest Missouri State College in Maryville, MO, and Boone Junior College, where he studied mechanical drawing. He was an avid golfer, and a devoted fan of the sport. His lifelong passion for golf led him to a career as a teaching pro at several courses, and later as groundskeeper at Lake Panorama National Golf Course. He was a member of the Professional Golfers’ Association.
He also worked for Kiewit Corp., a worldwide construction business, managing one of the company’s fleet yards in Arizona.
Gary also had a longtime interest in antiques and collectibles and enjoyed going to auctions and selling items at flea markets and other events throughout Iowa.
Gary Peacock is survived by his sister Judy Peacock Wills of Jefferson, and by her children – Kelly Wills of Phoenix, AZ, Col. Craig Wills, who is stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Turkey, Todd Wills of Sun City, AZ, and Paige Wills Brown of Newport Beach, CA; other relatives and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Craig Henry Peacock (1906-1961) and Vivian Peacock Lawton (1911-1999).
