Fleming Edmund "Corky" Peek Jr.

Corky passed away from heart failure on September 20, 2020. He was born on June 23rd, 1928, in Sacramento, CA. He is the son of Fleming Peek and Dorothy Nitschke. He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Dorothy Peek of Citrus Heights, CA. He is also survived by sons David Peek of Veneta, Oregon, John Peek of Vancouver, Washington, and daughters Debbie Schlueter of Redding, CA and Susan Casey of Citrus Heights, CA. Brothers Bob Nitschke of Galt, CA and Ken Nitschke of Sacramento, CA along with 5 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. Corky was known for his intelligence, easy nature, trustworthiness, and kind heart. He only missed one day of school all the way through college and that was the day his father passed away. He played football and was even a cheerleader at Woodland High School. He graduated as valedictorian and received a scholarship to UC Berkeley. A year later, after she graduated from Woodland, he and Dorothy were married. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering June1950. Two days after he graduated, he was hired by the Bridge Department Design Section. They sent him to Richmond where he led a group surveying for the building of the second tunnel of the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1954 he became a licensed professional engineer while in the Bridge Department. He supervised several bridges being built in the bay area and San Jose. He then was transferred to Santa Barbara where they spent two happy years playing in the ocean and learned to water ski. During this time the family moved eleven times. To give his family a more stable home life he transferred to the Division of Water Resources in Sacramento and they moved to Citrus Heights. Here he was promoted to Senior Engineer with the Contract Administration Office. He next served at the Flood Control Development Office with a promotion to Supervising Engineer. In 1983 he was promoted to Principal Construction Engineer. He received numerous commendations for his contributions, participation, and support of many state programs and special studies of water development in California. He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers where he served as President, Director, and Statewide Secretary of the Professional Engineers in California Government. When he retired in 1988, he was commended by the Senate Rules Committee for his professional achievements, his personal accomplishments, and 39 years of dedicated service to the State of California During all this time he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He participated in church sports with his sons, managed to have music lessons given to his 4 children, umpired many girls' softball games and attended every event possible for each of his kids and grandchildren. He and Dorothy built a family cabin near La Porte, CA which is still a gathering place for all the family. He served for many years as the CFO/Secretary of that property's non-profit organization. They spent 14 years in her brother's home in Kauai where they spent a month, either on the beach or golf course. When Corky started to have problems with arthritis they took up cruising, paying for the whole family to join them on several. He lived his life full of love, laughter, family, and many friends. His greatest joy was the enduring love of his wife Dorothy. He will be missed by so many. Per his request no service will be held.