Arthur Peckham, 89, Was Menemsha Harbor Master

Arthur Ellsworth Peckham Jr. died Friday at his home in Pawcatuck, Conn. He was 89.

Mr. Peckham, raised in Pawcatuck, was a 1938 graduate of the University of Rhode Island and a member of Phi Mu Delta fraternity. While at the university he met his wife of 65 years, Ernestine Mayhew, a native of Chilmark and member of the Class of 1939. The couple began their married life on seven acres on Pequot Trail in Pawcatuck.

In 1942, Mr. Peckham joined the war effort as a Navy officer. For the remainder of the war he served as a Navy beach commander leading assault landings on Saipan, Leyte, Tinian, Luzon and Iwo Jima. He was awarded a Bronze Star for valor for his service. Returning to Pawcatuck, his interest in farming led to the creation of the Long Look Turkey Farm.

His other passion during the post-war years was showing horses, winning best in show at the Watch Hill Horse Show three years running with his mare, August Lady. He was also a member of the gifts committee at the Central Baptist Church, commander of American Legion Post 152, and an active member of the Pawcatuck Lodge No. 90 of Free and Accepted Masons. He held continuous membership in the American Legion for 60 years and was a Mason for 68 years.

In 1954, Mr. Peckham moved his family from Connecticut to begin a 20-year corporate career as a senior executive with several national franchise distributors. His career achievement was noted in Who's Who in American Business and by his selection as an honorary Kentucky colonel. Concluding his corporate career, Mr. Peckham began nearly 20 years as a full-time resident of Chilmark, where he became the harbor master for Menemsha and pursued his interest in commercial fishing and lobstering.

Starting in 1990, Mr. Peckham and his wife split their time between their homes in Pawcatuck and North Fort Myers, Fla., returning full-time to Pawcatuck in 2002. During these years he enjoyed his love of history with memberships in the Westerly, R.I., and Stonington, Conn., historical societies and his love-hate relationship with golf, accruing three holes-in-one in his 70-plus years of play. Throughout his nearly 90 years, Mr. Peckham most treasured his family, his lifelong friends and his dogs.

He is survived by his wife, Ernestine; his son, Thomas Peckham of Aspen, Colo.; his daughter, Deborah Peckham of Stonington, Conn.; his daughter, Prudence, and her husband, Elliott Marsh, of Ashfield; and his four granddaughters, Carrie and Katherine Welch and Alexandra and Samantha Marsh. He also leaves his son in law, Frank Welch of Vineyard Haven, the husband of his eldest daughter, Virginia Welch, who died in 2002.

A memorial service will be held for Mr. Peckham at the Chilmark Community Church at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23. Donations in place of flowers may be made either to the Chilmark Community Church, 9 Menemsha Crossroad, Chilmark MA 02535 or to Hospice of Southeastern Connecticut, P.O. Box 902, Uncasville CT 06382.

For obituary information or to send the family an online condolence or remembrance, please visit dinotofuneral.com.