Avid foxhunter Dr. Howard Kenneth “Ken” Peacock died on March 31 in Aiken, S.C. He was 85.
Dr. Peacock grew up on the shores of New Jersey and New York, developing a love for sailing that followed him into adulthood. During World War II, Dr. Peacock joined the United States Army Air Corps, flying more than 80 missions as a navigator before returning to the United States to attend medical school at Albany Medical College (N.Y.).
As an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Peacock ran a successful private practice in Palm Beach County, Florida. Encouraged by his two horse-crazy daughters, Dr. Peacock became an original member of the Palm Beach Hounds (Fla.). Upon relocating to Aiken in 1996, he became a founding member of the Why Worry Hounds. Dr. Peacock was a welcome member of any field he joined during his frequent travels, and he helped many fallen foxhunters over the years.
MFH George Thomas of Why Worry Hounds remembered Dr. Peacock as a keen and capable whipper-in who never missed a meet and went out of his way to make himself useful, whether exercising the hounds in the off-season or photographing the hounds to help the other huntsmen identify them.
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Dr. Peacock embarked on a range of creative projects with zeal and intellectual curiosity. He created an aerial map of the Why Worry Hounds territory, combining his skills as a pilot and photographer to take scores of photographs then painstakingly pieced them together on Thomas’ kitchen table. His experience as a sailor and pilot inspired him to build several boats, a helicopter and even an airplane from scratch.
“Ken was the kindest, most patient man I’ve ever met,” recalled Thomas. “He was a great sportsman and one of those rare individuals who truly went out of his way to help everyone.”
Dr. Peacock is survived by: his wife, Cynthia Peacock, of Aiken; three children—Bruce Peacock, of Palm Beach County, Fla., Sue Dingwell, of Palm Beach County, Fla., and Diane Watson, of Aiken; and two grandchildren.
