J. Stevenson Peck, the amiable Baltimore banker, former chairman of the board of Signet Bank/Maryland and community leader, died of Alzheimer's disease yesterday at Keswick Multi-Care Center. The Ruxton resident was 79 and had retired as bank chairman in 1988.
Born and raised in Wilmington, N.C., Mr. Peck earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina in 1943.
He enlisted in the Navy that year and served during World War II in the Pacific, attaining the rank of lieutenant.
In 1947, he joined the old Union Trust Co. of Maryland as a trainee and rose through its ranks until being named a bank director and senior vice president in 1966. He was named executive vice president in 1968, bank president in 1969 and chairman of Union Trust Bancorp in 1972.
With the coming of banking deregulation in the 1980s, Mr. Peck and William Cowie, then president of the bank, were successful in creating a merger of Union Trust and Bank of Virginia Co., which became Signet Banking Corp. in 1985.
Mr. Peck was named the new company's first president in 1986, and at his retirement was also chairman of the executive committee.
A handsome man with rugged features, Mr. Peck had a down-home drawl and gregarious personality that colored his style as he became a highly respected banker and community leader.
But at heart, he seemed like a small-town banker, who had the reputation of knowing all of his employees and of having a willing ear for the bank's customers.
In an interview for an employee publication at his retirement, Mr. Peck said, "I am just such a people person. ... I guess I'm direct and to the point. I'd say I want all our people to know that when somebody comes in here and asks a question - whether it is a prospect, a customer or complainant - they're entitled to a straight, honest answer the moment they walk in here."
"While he may have had a down-home personality that made people feel comfortable, he was also a shrewd businessman," said Edmond B. Nolley, former senior vice president at Union Trust.
State Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, for whom Mr. Peck had served as gubernatorial campaign treasurer, recalled him as a "top-notch banker."
"I have only the highest praise for him," said Mr. Schaefer, who recalled going to Mr. Peck about merchants in East Baltimore who were unable to get small-business loans from other Baltimore banks.
"These were merchants on Highland Avenue who needed $3,000 to $4,000 loans and the banks weren't interested. I called Steve and he told me he'd set aside $250,000 for them, and he did," Mr. Schaefer said. "Because he cared about the little guy, this is what made him such a good banker. He was always upbeat, and I never saw him down. He was well-liked and friendly to everyone."
H. Furlong Baldwin, former head of Mercantile Bank, described Mr. Peck as a "gentleman of the old school."
"I mean that in the real sense of the word. He believed in integrity and honesty, and these were the words he lived his life by," Mr. Baldwin said. "He also realized his job as a banker was more than just running a bank and worrying about deposits and loans. He felt being active in the community was also part of his job."
"He was always very eager to work on community projects he cared about, including the nursing school at Johns Hopkins Hospital," said Walter Sondheim, senior adviser to the Greater Baltimore Committee.
As campaign chairman for the United Fund of Central Maryland in 1973, Mr. Peck told The Evening Sun, "I feel like Billy Graham hitting a sawdust trail for a human cause."
His efforts raised $11.6 million - which at the time was the most successful campaign in Baltimore's history of combined giving.
He had served on the board of Johns Hopkins Hospital and had been a director of Keswick for nearly 25 years. He was a founding chairman of the Baltimore Corporation for Housing Partnership and a former chairman of Maryland Business for Responsive Government.
He also had been active in the Rotary Club, Jaycees, and Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
Several days a week for many years, Mr. Peck volunteered at the Johns Hopkins Hospital coffee shop, where he dressed in a green apron, white shirt and striped tie, and waited on customers.
He enjoyed vacationing at Wrightsville Beach, N.C., and playing golf at the Elkridge Club, where he was a member. He was also a member of the Maryland Club.
Mr. Peck was a communicant of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles St., where a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday.
Mr. Peck is survived by his wife of 54 years, the former Frances Grainger Marburg; a son, J. Stevenson Peck Jr. of Richmond, Va.; two daughters, Seska P. Ramberg of Sparks and Christine S. Peck of Birmingham, Mich.; a brother, Oscar P. Peck of Dallas; a sister, Jocelyn P. Strange of Wilmington, N.C.; and five grandchildren.