Joseph Peck

Joseph Peck of Omaha, Nebraska went to work as an apprentice for Western Electric after high school. The Western Electric Company manufactured electrical equipment, and it was established after it moved to Chicago from Cleveland in 1872. Over the years there were many iterations for and from Western Electric, one of the branches became AT&T Technologies, Lucent Technologies and Avaya. Joe belonged to the IBEW and worked on commercial rooftop heating and air conditioning units. He would tell his daughters that these units were as big as their van, and he also told them about making and installing ductwork. How many of us in the HVAC industry have told similar stories to our children? Joe also ran a side business called Midlands Heating and Air Conditioning that concentrated primarily on residential installation, service, and inspection. After more than 30 years with Avaya Joe took retirement during a company buyout primarily because he had started to struggle with balance issues.

His daughter Vicki was already living with cervical myelopathy resulting from compression of the spinal cord in her neck. With all this, everything became exponentially more difficult financially for Joe’s family. When the main house drain backed up into the basement laundry room in early 2023 the family was desperate. There was no one they could reach out to for help, but the daughters’ online search led them to our foundation.

After everything had been repaired Vicki told us, “2023 has been crazy so far. I am recovering from my stay in the ICU and two kidney surgeries while mom was hospitalized with serious pressure sores. The drain problem was something we needed to do right away but could not afford to. Your foundation came to the rescue, and we are eternally grateful.”