- Date Of Birth: September 5, 1927
- Date Of Death: September 18, 2017
- State: Florida
Howard Peckham, 90, a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force, passed away on September 18, 2017, in Indian Harbor Beach, Florida. He was born September 5, 1927, at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., to Major General Howard Peckham, Sr., and Marion S. Shaw. In 1954 he married Jane E. Goodman and together they raised two sons, Lawrence and Terrence, until her death in 1972. In 1974 Howard married Mollie Austin Billingslea, who had two children, Arthur and Karen. Mollie died in 2004.
After graduating with the Class of 1951 from West Point, Howard joined the U.S. Air Force. Assigned to the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, he piloted RF 86 reconnaissance missions over China and Manchuria, for which he received both the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal for Meritorious Achievement and Distinguished Heroism. Howard received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institutes of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, and attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va. His last posting was to the Air Force Eastern Test Range at Patrick AFB, Fla., first as director of Range Engineering, then director of Range Operations, and finally as vice commander, for which he received the award of the Legion of Merit upon his retirement in 1977.
Following retirement, Howard and Mollie owned All World Travel in Indialantic and Palm Bay, and for many years specialized in leading group trips all over the world. Howard also helped found Indian River Colony Club in Viera, a resort community that opened in 1986 for retired military.
In addition to his two sons, Howard is survived by his sister, Jean Peckham Kavale; Kathleen Peckham, Lawrence’s wife, and their sons Howard and Leigh; Wendy Billingslea, Arthur’s wife and their daughters Lauren, Kristin and Katie; and William Love, Karen’s husband and their children Robert, Shelley and Laura.
