Harry Jackson "Jack" Peyton Jr., a retired civil engineer who founded Alleghany Utility Corp. and was a decorated World War II pilot, died Thursday of emphysema at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. He was 78 and lived in Lutherville.
Mr. Peyton worked on area projects -- including the first leg of the Jones Falls Expressway, the Mount Wilson State Hospital, bank buildings and bridges -- for his companies and many others, and was an innovator in the use of lasers to align pipe. He was a past president of the Associated Utility Contractors of Maryland and of the National Utility Contractors Association
Born in Escondido, Calif., he came to Baltimore as a boy and was a 1942 graduate of Polytechnic Institute. In 1949, he earned his civil engineering degree at the Johns Hopkins University, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity.
Beginning in 1943, when he was 19, he served in the Army Air Forces. He became a captain and pilot of a B-24, flying 35 missions over Europe. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, as a member of the 826th Bombardment Squadron, 484th Bombardment Group. He left active duty in 1945 and served in the Air Force Reserves until 1960.
Although reluctant to speak about his wartime experiences, Mr. Peyton maintained a love of flying airplanes and helicopters, and was a student pilot on a sailplane, said his wife of 13 years, Marianna Fava-Peyton. He also enjoyed sailing and traveling; his travels included a trip to Antarctica at age 69.
While in high school, he worked as a land surveyor for Morrow Brothers general contractors, and returned to the company after his wartime service. Also in 1945, he opened his first company, Peyton & Lutz land surveyors, and was a part-time estimator and foreman for Victor A. Pyles Co. excavators.
A journeyman carpenter, Mr. Peyton also worked for several other companies, including John McShane Inc., Deluca Davis Inc., Cramer Vollmerhausen, where he was a superintendent, and C.W. Williams and Associates, where he became a first vice president.
From 1949 to 1956, he owned and operated Peyton Estimates, and in 1957 opened Peyton Inc. In 1963, he merged his companies into Alleghany Utility Corp., which he had founded in 1961 to work with underground utilities. After closing his company in 1985, Mr. Peyton worked as a consultant.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Stella Maris Chapel, 2300 Dulaney Valley Road in Timonium.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, H. Jackson Peyton of Washington; a daughter, Jerri Peyton-Braden of Catonsville; a stepson, James Fava of Towson; and three stepdaughters, Joan Herr of Ellicott City, Stephanie Fava Zenker of Phoenix, Baltimore County, and Michele Fox of Towson. A previous marriage ended in divorce.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Stella Maris General Fund.