RUFUS PECKHAM

1928 - 2020

PECKHAM RUFUS WHEELER PECKHAM Rufus Wheeler Peckham passed away on April 22, 2020, of Covid-19 in Annandale, VA. He was 92. Born in New York City on January 25, 1928, Rufus graduated in 1946 from Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts, and joined the Marines that September. He served two years active duty and another four in the reserves, honorably discharged in November 1952 with the rank of sergeant. Settling in Washington, D.C., Rufus earned business and law degrees at American University. He opened a private law practice in the late 1950s, much of which focused on helping civil service employees navigate the system. He also did occasional work pro bono. Rufus assumed many other roles over the years-a D.C. liquor commissioner, a freelance security guard and between 1952 and 1992, an officer, then captain, with the D.C. Police Reserves, where he earned two awards for valor. A lifelong bachelor and a devoted Republican, Rufus shared the name of his father (a Navy captain and Defense Department official), grandfather (a U.S. Supreme Court justice) and great-grandfather (a congressman from New York). He was also descended from John Peckham, a 13th century archbishop of Canterbury. In keeping with these family traditions, Rufus was an active, parliamentary-minded parishioner for many years at Christ Episcopal Church in Georgetown. Large, confident and witty, Rufus and Senator John Warner, a friend, were much beloved elder eminences at Marine Corps gatherings. He belonged to the Metropolitan Club for more than 50 years and was a member of the Knickerbocker Club in New York. Rufus was also a firearms expert who amassed an impressive collection of historic and contemporary guns, much admired by friends. For decades a fixture on Q Street where he lived in Georgetown, Rufus spent the final two years of his life, following a fall, at a nursing home. His one sibling Charles died in 1989. Memorial gifts may be made to Brooks School https://www.brooksschool.org/giving or Christ Church, Georgetown https://abundant.co/ccg/give. There will be a memorial service at Christ Church at a later date. Inurnment is planned for Arlington National Cemetery.Memorial gifts may be made to Brooks School https://www.brooksschool.org/giving or Christ Church, Georgetown https://abundant.co/ccg/give. There will be a memorial service at Christ Church at a later date. Inurnment is planned for Arlington National Cemetery.