HANCOCK — William Heller “Bill” Peake was born in Binghamton, N.Y., in 1926 and died September 19th, 2011.

He had been a resident of Hancock since 1973, although he began spending summers there in 1962. Soon after birth, he and his mother moved to China, where his father was working. He attended two schools there and in 1938, at age 12, his parents took him to England to undergo eye surgery. Because of an accident, Bill had lost the sight in his right eye. In 1939, his parents began the journey back to China, leaving Bill in Merseyside, England. His young life took another turn when, sadly, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. He moved back to the U.S., where his parents had come to be close to family. Advanced in his studies, he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the age of 16. At 19, he graduated with his Bachelor of Science in physics. In 1946, he was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force, where he served one year. In 1951, he received his master’s degree in physics from Columbia, and in 1959 his Ph.D. in physics at The Ohio State University. He eventually became a full professor of both physics and electrical engineering. He was instrumental in the design and engineering of satellite antennae for NASA during that period. In 1973, Bill and his wife, Adeline, bought a home in Hancock. In 1980, he became professor and chair of the electrical engineering department at the University of Maine, Orono. He finally retired from teaching in 1997, as professor emeritus.

He was widowed in 2006. He is survived by brother, Sam Peake and wife, Ruby; niece, Elizabeth; stepchildren, Sylvia Monteux, Gerard Monteux and wife, Beth, Robert Monteux and wife, Jennifer, and Stephanie Jahn and husband, Ernest; and cousin, Betty Forrester and husband, Dennis.

Later in life, rowing became Bill’s passion. He was constantly “working the waves” on his beloved Taunton Bay. Thus, in lieu of flowers or cards, a contribution to Friends of Taunton Bay would be greatly appreciated: Friends of Taunton Bay, attn: treasurer, P.O. Box 3, Hancock, ME 04640.