John C. Peep

John Cornell Peep passed away suddenly Dec. 3, 2015, from natural causes in his Goldstream Valley cabin.
John was born in Gettysburg, South Dakota, on Sept. 25, 1952. He was the fifth of 12 children born to Charles Lynn and Johanna Maria (Ria) Peep.
As a child, he went to a one-room school near the family farm in rural South Dakota. Later, his family lived on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in Eagle Butte before moving to St Joseph, Minnesota. He graduated from St. Cloud High School in 1970. He lettered in football, wrestling and track.
John enlisted in the Marines on Nov. 2, 1971, and served until May 1973 and in the reserves until 1977. He was in Vietnam and also part of an Amphibious Warfare Presentation Team, which took him all around the Pacific Rim demonstrating U.S. amphibious military equipment.
His mother told him to go visit his sister in Alaska, so he came up in summer 1977 with all his worldly possessions in a backpack. He never left Alaska, except on a few special occasions. He had found his home.
He was the first employee at his sister and brother-in-law's store, the Gun and Reel Sport Shop, which was later renamed Valley View Center. Once he met neighbor Red Olsen, he went to work for Red and his goldmining operation.
He worked at Petro Star Refinery for many years. At first, he rode his bicycle from Goldstream Valley to North Pole and back again every work day.
John was the adventurer in our family. He was certified as a scuba diver. He bought and rebuilt an airplane which he flew for 50 hours as a student pilot before deciding that it wasn't for him. He had mining claims that he worked with a friend.
He made 1,074 skydives and was a skydiving instructor in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Fairbanks. His group, the Golden Nugget Skydivers, made many demo jumps into events all over Alaska. His family remembers watching John and his friends jump from a hot air balloon over our property and many other jumps.
He was a dog musher and raced in the Yukon Quest four times.
In 1992, he was rookie of the year, coming in eighth place in 1993. He placed 13th in 1994. In 1995, he scratched after one of his dogs died. His brother, Michael, completed the race that year. He was in many smaller races too. He always said tougher conditions gave him an advantage. A News-Miner headline about John during the Quest, read "Musher does not make a Peep about tough conditions."
His last job was for Avalon Development Corporation. He would accompany geologists when they were prospecting for minerals and staking claims.
He loved the job because he loved being outside and in remote Alaskan locations. He loved everything about prospecting and mineral exploration.
In the last few years, he ran a drill core cutting crew. He eagerly anticipated going back to work each spring.
John never married. He was preceded in death by his parents, and brother Dana Peep. He is survived by his brothers and sisters: Jeanette (Gene) Grasto and Michael Peep, from Fairbanks; Florence Boyd and Susan Peep, from Tucson, Arizona; Charles A. Peep, from Minot, North Dakota; Eric (Marlyn) Peep, from Portland, Oregon; Timothy Peep, from Sturgis, South Dakota; Patricia (Dennis Dunbar) Peep, from Spearfish, South Dakota; Geraldine Maltaverne, from Brookings, South Dakota, and Johanna (Tim) Gregoire, from Vermillion, South Dakota; his Alaskan nieces and nephews, Jennifer, Jeremy, Eriana, Suzette and Charles; many nieces and nephews who lived Outside, and his friends.
A memorial service will be held from 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, at the Goldstream Lions Ken Kunkel Center. The family requests your attendance to share "John stories."
The family requests no flowers. Make a donation to the Yukon Quest or a charity of your choice in his name.
Arrangements are being handled by the Fairbanks Funeral Home.
Please visit www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsminer to sign an online guest book.