Index of Memorial Resolutions and Biographical Sketches

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IN MEMORIAM JOHN RUSSELL PECK John Peck, a retired professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin, died on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1998. We who knew him will truly miss this outstanding professor, nurturing mentor, and kind and gentle friend. John was born on September 14, 1910, in Worchester, Massachusetts, and grew up in Crown Point, New York. He received his bachelor’s degree with a major in journalism from Springfield College in 1932. During World War II he served in North Africa and Italy with the 21st Aviation Engineer Battalion, having attained the rank of captain. In 1954 John received his PhD in special education from the University of North Carolina. From 1956 through 1975 he was a professor in UT Austin's Department of Special Education, earning the rank of associate professor in 1960 and full professor in 1969. His many roles in the department included serving as graduate adviser and teacher certification officer. Before and after retirement, John devoted many hours of service to the Austin community, the State, and the Nation, particularly with organizations serving children with disabilities. These organizations included the Marbridge Foundation, Mary Lee School of Special Education, Governor’s State Advisory Committee on Mental Retardation, and the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation. John devoted not only his professional life to serving children with disabilities, but his personal life as well. He and his surviving wife, Lena Peck, took many children with disabilities into their home, caring for them on a daily basis. John’s passing marks the loss of a kind and gentle man who devoted his life to teaching and mentoring university students, as well as parenting children with disabilities. <signed> Larry R. Faulkner, President The University of Texas at Austin <signed> John R. Durbin, Secretary The General Faculty This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee consisting of Professors Randall Parker (chair), Alba Ortiz, and Keith Turner, and Professor Emeritus Natalie Barraga.