Robert Wilson "Bob" Peck

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Robert "Bob" Wilson Peck of Indianola, Iowa, who passed away on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at the age of 86. A Celebration of Life will be held 2 p.m., Friday, May 8 at Overton Funeral Home with inurnment to follow in the IOOF Memorial Gardens Cemetery with his wife Hazel "Bunny" Peck. Celebration of Life Visitation will be held prior from 12 to 2 p.m. at the funeral home. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page.

He was predeceased by his loving wife of 63 years, Hazel "Bunny" Peck; his parents, Lee and Edna Peck; his sister, Deloris Hecox; his niece, Dee Ann Hecox; and his parents-in-law, Clair and Gladys Whittles.

He is survived by his children, Shelley Dugan (Brian), Craig Peck (Jennifer), Susan Rhodes, and Steven Peck. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren: Claire Dugan, Zack Barragan (Kylie), Caleb Peck, Olivia (Rhys) Barragan Jones, Hannah Barragan (Nermin Kremic), Emma Peck, Chloe Peck (Seth Pippett), Sophie Peck, Isaac Peck, Jada Peck, Ellie Rhodes (Jeram Andersen), Anna LaFollette (Bryce), Grace Peck, and Millie Peck; 4 great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, and other family and friends.

Our Dad lived a full and interesting life. His only sibling, Deloris, was 18 years old when he made his surprise entrance while she was out on a date. His mother was in her 40's, a tiny woman who thought she just had "the middle-age spread" and indigestion.

Dad loved to tinker and learned about things by taking them apart and fixing them. He taught himself how fans work and ran his own small business as a young boy repairing fans around Burlington. His tolerant parents even let him dismantle motorcycles and rev them up in the basement.

In the late 1950's, Dad was an Army Reserve veteran and went to visit a friend in the hospital where he happened to meet Mom, who was a nurse there. She was engaged to someone else but from the moment they met, they knew. They were married 63 years.

Dad was a Renaissance man. He was a jack of all trades and a master of all. He was an avid golfer and bowler, played a mean piano, and taught himself to play the guitar. We would often beg him to play the Boogie-woogie on the piano and he would sheepishly give in because Dad did not like being the center of attention. He had a beautiful singing voice that we were privy to only a few times.

Dad was always in good physical shape; he walked miles a day, did the Canadian Army Navy workout routine, and Jack LaLane calisthenics routine every morning for as long as he could. In his 50's he hopped on a unicycle and took off down the hilly street, no problem. Like his mother, he had a holistic approach to health and could always find the craziest solutions for what ailed you way before the internet.

He had a deep love of auto racing, aviation, and was an avid reader of anything from John Grisham to psychology to physics and mathematics. He had the heart of an entrepreneur and an independent streak a mile long. His life goal was to "Stick it to the Man" and he succeeded in every possible way.

As a young father, Dad read that kids who were early readers had the best chances of excelling in school and so, determined to send us off to kindergarten with a head start, he made giant flashcards to teach us words. It was a rite of passage to work with him and those long, poster board cards with the red letters that he had cut from construction paper. When we started school, we were miles ahead of our kindergarten peers.

Although money was tight when we were young, Mom supported Dad's love of flying and he got his private pilot's license. He took us kids up on a couple of occasions when we were young, much to our mother's chagrin. Soaring into the air with Dad is a feeling we will never forget!

When the world began relying increasingly on computers, Dad decided to leave the insurance business and give himself a challenge by registering for a course in Computer Technology at Indian Hills Community College in our town of Ottumwa. Mom took a full-time nursing job to support us while he got his associate's degree in computer technology at the age of 36. Upon receiving his degree, he found a job working for a telecom company in central Iowa. After doing extensive research on the area, Dad and Mom decided to build a new home in Indianola and moved the family there in 1976.

Dad was a master storyteller. His mind was a steel trap, and he could recall everything he had ever read or watched. He was highly intelligent and the wheels were always turning, whether it was figuring out ways to save money, researching a new place to eat the perfect pizza, or investing in a new side business to help support his family. His lifelong love of electronics and gadgets served him well when he took a job in the Indianola Walmart electronics department upon retirement. Second only to loving our mom and his family, he loved to eat -- especially pizza, chili, or anything spicy. He frequently overindulged and ended up miserable for days. He was known to have a Bloody Mary or a Pink Squirrel in celebration of a televised auto race and to sometimes let us have a taste.

Always down for a cup of coffee day or night, he was rarely ever seen without a cup and was eager to make you one if you came to visit. He wore his cheapskate badge with pride and would tell everyone who would listen about the deal he ended up getting after battling with a salesperson. He was quite proud of his ability to roast his sons-in-law and to always get in the last jab.

After Mom passed, Dad spent his days mourning her. His mind quickly started to slip, and he was once again happy and playful, flirting with the nursing staff, telling tales of taking women out to movies on imaginary dates, and of going to the job that he had started as a food-taster in Fort Madison on his 2-wheeler (his ideal job!).

We would like to express our deepest thanks to Carrie and the staff of Suncrest Hospice; and to Jeremy, Melanie, Kyle, and the many loving caregivers at the Vintage Hills Memory Care unit. Their job is incredibly hard, and they do it with kindness and grace.

Even in the final throes of dementia, he worried about providing for his family and would ask us to take his food and his blankets home so we would not be cold or hungry. We would tell him each time that he had done the BEST job as a dad, that we all had everything we could ever want plus more, and that he need not worry. We'll be okay, Dad, thanks to you and Mom. Fly high, Pops! We love you!!

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hazel "Bunny" Peck Endowment Scholarship at Simpson College or the Kiya Koda Humane Society of Indianola in Bob's memory.