Arlie Murel Peck was born August 13, 1934, to Murel and Doris (Week) Peck in Hettinger, ND. He attended rural schools in Perkins County and high school in Bison, SD. His dad bought a plane before Arlie was out of high school and Arlie learned to fly, getting his license when he was 16. After graduation from high school, he stayed on the farm with his dad and helped with the cattle and the never ending chore of grinding feed for the pigs. Arlie had the mail route from Strool to Date and Zeona. That was in the days when the road was dirt and he picked up cream along the route and also delivered groceries and repairs.

He was drafted into the US Army in March of 1957 and was stationed at Ft. Chaffee, AR, for basic training and then went to Ft. Rucker, AL, to be trained as a helicopter mechanic. From there he was sent to Augsburg, Germany where he was stationed for 1 ½ years.

Arlie married Darlene Kellogg on May 23, 1957, at the Wesleyan Church in Prairie City.

Arlie bought the homestead of Robert Zimminer on the Perkins, Harding County line soon after his return. He and his father worked together increasing and improving a herd of registered Angus cattle and farming land owned by the Wesleyan Conference. In 1963, he and Darlene were divorced.

Arlie married Janice Mitchell Baldwin and her 3 children on June 1, 1964. Then they got ponies, bicycles, bum lambs and his father sent his 2 milk cows over for them to care for. Shirley was 10, Russ was 9, and Dawn was 7. Mitchell Murel was born on June 6, 1965, to complete the family.

Over the years, more land was added to the original purchase. A modern pipeline milking system was installed and the milking herd increased to around 40. Sheds, a shop, and machine shed were built. An addition was built on the house in 1976.

Arlie served on the Harding County Fair Board for many years, enjoying getting to know people on the other side of the county. They went to the county fairs and for years made the trip to Huron for the State Fair. Arlie also enjoyed team roping, bowling, and playing cards with neighbors.

In the fall of 1987, the milk cows were sold, but it was hard to break the habit of getting up at 4 AM. Janice had a lot of time on her hands so she started Jan's Country Catering. Turned out, Arlie got a lot more involved in this project than he had planned. They did weddings, birthday parties and banquets.

They were members of the Slim Buttes Lutheran Church and Arlie served on the board. There, they came to faith in their precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Though they moved to a different community, they still thought of this church as home.

In 2001, Arlie and Janice moved to Sturgis, SD, to a townhouse where the lawn and snow were taken care of for them. In Sturgis, they worshiped at the Wesleyan Church where they had formed new friendships. Arlie enjoyed volunteering at the High Plains Heritage Museum in Spearfish.

Arlie died unexpectedly, after a surgical procedure, on January 28, 2012, in Spearfish Regional Hospital. The many expressions of love and support for his family reflect Arlie's life rich in love of family and friends.

Survivors include his wife, Janice Peck, Sturgis; daughter, Shirley (Tim) Kirby with children, Kyle and Shannon, Denver, CO; son, Russell (Junior) Baldwin, Toledo, WA; daughter, Dawn (Geoff) Kohn, with their children, Ben, James, and Rachel, Cleveland, OH; son, Mitchell (Jennifer) Peck and boys, Nathan and Nicholas, Rock Springs, WY.

A prayer service will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at the Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis with Pastor Dan Ziebarth officiating.

Memorial services will be 1 p.m. Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at the Slim Buttes Lutheran Church near Reva, SD, with Pastor Henry Mohagen officiating.

A memorial has been established to the Sunday Radio Broadcast at the Slim Buttes Lutheran Church.

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