Today's Featured Biography

 
Alan McPeak

Alan McPeak – [email protected]

After graduating from Edina, the following fall I went to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. I graduated four years later with a BS in Chemical Engineering and from ROTC as a second lieutenant in the USAF. I married Linda Smith in 1966 during the year and a half that I was working for Dupont after graduating and before going on active duty.
I went on active duty at the Rocket Propulsion Laboratory on Edwards AFB, CA. After five years in the Mojave Desert I transferred to Vandenberg AFB for six years and then left active duty for the reserves for another 14 years. During my active duty time at Edwards I designed rocket engines and tested new propellants for rocket use and got my Private Pilots license at the Edwards Aeroclub. When I moved to Vandenberg AFB I was a rocket launch officer and a launch site commander for three years and then moved into upper stage design, in another organization, for the first block 1 GPS satellites. I also got my Instrument Rating for my pilots license at the Vandenberg Aero Club. About the same time, Linda got her private pilot’s license, also at the Vandenberg Aero Club.
After leaving active duty, I went to work for the Aerojet Liquid Rocket Company in Sacramento for 15 years, while also serving in the USAF Reserves at McClellan AFB in north Sacramento. I also finished my Masters Degree in Systems Management at USC during my time in Sacramento. At Aerojet I was designing and testing new rocket engines for space propulsion. At McCellan AFB I was an environmental engineer as the base was the national test site for all new pollution cleanup technology. The base had almost every ground pollutant that you can think of. We also had a fleet of electric vehicles for use on base, since we were also the test site for electric vehicles at that time.
After retiring from the reserves in 1992 as a Lieutenant Colonel, I went to work for the Department of the Air Force at McClellan as a civilian environmental engineer. After another seven years, when the base was closing, the next stop was a transfer back to my first love, space propulsion, to Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs, to work on Military Communication Satellites as a spacecraft design engineer. After 10 years there, I retired for good in 2008.
We have traveled to Europe twice, Mexico three times, the Bahamas twice and Canada several times. I am still an active pilot and we plan to attend the 50th Class Reunion by light aircraft.
Hobbies besides flying are Scuba diving (Certified Diver), hiking, running, biking, camping, skiing, singing (community choir, church choir, duets and solos), reading and carpentry. We bought a fixer-upper cabin six years ago and I have had a lot of practice fixing (plumbing, electrical and drywall), designing an addition and building it, adding solar power and making the cabin a very nice, livable wilderness retreat. The work is now basically done so we can enjoy our second home.
Linda has become an expert painter, drywall repair artist and interior decorator during this process. She has also done quite a few drawings and watercolor paintings, which grace our home. But her first love is music. She went back to college after raising our two children, and graduated from California State University, Sacramento, in 2001 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance. About a year later, she became Music Director at our church, and held that position for three years, until shortly before that church closed.
We are currently very active in our two churches, one in Colorado Springs during the winter and the other in Westcliffe during the summer where we have our cabin. We are still active in choirs in both churches as well as singing solos and duets at various times. We are also very active in a church movement called Cursillo. I have served at the state level in both California and Colorado on the governing board for Cursillo and as President/Lay Director for two terms in each state.

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