Pecks recognized for building and supporting Lehi community

Lara Bangerter | Lehi Free Press

Ken Peck and Barbara Jean Schow met in 1955 in Mrs. Helen Harper’s second grade class at Lehi Elementary. They never imagined that they would one day get married, have a family and build a life together in their hometown. Both spent their childhood and youth in Lehi schools, where they participated in many ways, planting the seeds of a life full of family and service.

Soon after Ken and Barbara were married in 1967, they built their first home near the cemetery. Ken served for decades in the Boy Scouts of America program, helping young men earn their Eagle Scout awards until eventually serving as district chairman for the Lehi District and attending Wood Badge. He earned his Eagle Scout Award and the Silver Beaver Award. Throughout his adult life, Ken has served as a leader for young men in various callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Ken started his own construction business, Ken Peck Construction, and used his extensive expertise as part of the volunteer construction crew that helped build the Vets Park concession stand and tower. He also helped build the baseball dugouts and tower for Lehi High School as well as several Lehi City park pavilions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ken made hundreds of sacrament trays for families to use in their homes when they couldn’t attend church in person.

Barbara has used her considerable skills to build up the community. While her six children were in grade school, she was room mother for their classrooms and served on the PTA. She worked on at least 20 miniature floats for Lehi Round-Up Week parades and has cooked and sold hamburgers and hot dogs in the concession booths at the rodeo and Lehi High School countless times.

Ken and Barbara enjoy bringing their grill to Vets Park and other venues, where they serve hot dogs to their grandchildren’s teams and families for the last game of the season. Barbara has become known as “Hot Dog Grandma.”

Barbara has served in many ways in the Church, including at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, on missions with Ken at Temple Square and in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, and as an ordinance worker in the Mount Timpanogos Temple for 17 years and the Saratoga Springs Temple for two years.

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Ken was born in 1948 to N.S. and Beda Leona Cook Peck at the American Fork Hospital, seven minutes before his twin sister Kalyn Peck Secretan. He attended Lehi Elementary, Sego Lily Elementary, Lehi Junior High and Lehi High School. His favorite childhood memories include riding out west on 300 North on a horse-drawn wagon with his neighbor Mr. Eli Fox. Ken “helped” Fox with his chores, probably making more work for the patient man.

Barbara Jean Schow was born in 1947 to Leona Hermine Osterloh Shelton Schow and Harold Brown Schow at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. She lived at 500 N. 100 E. in Lehi. She and the other neighborhood children considered Wines Park their personal park and spent many happy days playing there.

Both Ken and Barbara graduated from Lehi High School, where Barbara was a cheerleader, FFA Sweetheart, and salutatorian her senior year. Ken served as student body president and played football, basketball and baseball. Barbara and Ken attended Girls State and Boys State, respectively, during high school.

They have six children: Jared (Heather) Peck, Samantha (Shay) Clark, Melissa (Jason) Carter, Adam (Maria) Peck, Joshua (Rebecca) Peck and Rachel (Brian) Dansie. They have 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.