John Peak
Historical Summary
Betty Moor MacGuire, honored in the El Paso County Historical Society’s 2019 Hall of Honor, was recognized for decades of civic and philanthropic work that improved opportunities for children and enhanced quality of life in El Paso. In 1989, she and her husband founded the nonprofit War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, to share their passion for aviation and preserve their collection of vintage aircraft; the museum later became an international attraction. She was also noted as a key figure in El Paso’s civic life, with the 2007 reopening of the Plaza Theater cited as an important catalyst in the revitalization of downtown.
John William Peak, another 2019 Hall of Honor inductee, was born in 1871 in Vera, Illinois, and trained in embalming and funeral services before moving to El Paso in the early 1910s at the request of the U.S. government. His work was tied to the violence of the Mexican Revolution, which began in 1910 under Francisco Madero’s uprising against Porfirio Díaz, and he later buried Americans killed after Pancho Villa’s 1916 raid on Columbus, New Mexico.
After the revolution, Peak remained in El Paso and built a prominent funeral business. Peak Undertaking introduced the first motor-driven ambulance in El Paso County in 1915, and in 1919 he and Barry Hagedon established the Peak-Hagedon Funeral Establishment on Montana Avenue. The firm also became an early sponsor of KTSM’s 1938 radio program “Frontier Fighters,” which dramatized episodes and figures from frontier history.
Peak and his sister Grace Edith Peak were also major philanthropists in El Paso. John Peak was active in the El Maida Shriners and served as Potentate in 1926, while the siblings helped support the El Paso Y.W.C.A.’s 52-bed residence for young women. Upon their deaths in 1950 and 1954, they left most of their estates to Texas Western College, now the University of Texas at El Paso, the First Christian Church, and other charitable causes.
Document Transcription
2019 Hall of Honor
most popular and historic venues in the city. In many ways, the reopening of the Plaza Theater in 2007 triggered the revitalization of Downtown.
In 1989, MacGuire and her husband, both pilots, established the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, in order to share their love of aviation with the borderlands community and house their collection of vintage planes. The nonprofit museum continues to grow and attracts visitors from around the world.
Betty Moor MacGuire, recipient of El Paso Inc.'s Community Spirit Award in 2016, has spent the last six decades creating a better future for children in and improving the quality of life in El Paso. She is highly deserving of being inducted into the El Paso County Historical Society's Hall of Honor.
John Peak
2019 Hall of Honor Inductee
John William Peak was born on November 21, 1871, in Vera, Illinois, to Alexander Peak and Mary Doyle. Peak grew up in Illinois, learning embalming and funeral services and working as an undertaker.
In the early 1910s, at the request of the United States Government, Peak was transferred to El Paso, Texas, along with one of his younger sisters, Grace Edith Peak, to provide burial services along the U.S.-Mexico border. In 1910 a major armed struggle had begun in Mexico with an uprising led by Francisco Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Diaz, and the U.S. Army realized that it would potentially need such services given the number of deceased. After Pancho Villa raided Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916, Peak was engaged by the U.S. Government to bury the Americans who had been killed.
At the conclusion of the Mexican Revolution, John Peak elected to stay in El Paso and established Peak Undertaking. In 1915, the Peak Undertaking Company purchased the first motor-driven ambulance in El Paso County. In 1919, Mr. Peak joined with Mr. Barry Hagedon to build the new Peak-Hagedon Funeral Establishment at 320 Montana Avenue. After working with John Peak for 23 years, Barry Hagedon bought his share in the funeral home in 1942, and then became partners with Russell Harding and later James Orr.
Before that, however, the Peak-Hagedon Funeral Home did much to bring the "Golden Age of Radio" to America and history lessons to El Paso by becoming the first sponsors of the "Frontier Fighters" radio show on KTSM. Beginning on January 26, 1938, "Frontier Fighters" was aired for 39 weeks and recounted historical moments or figures from the history of the American Frontier from the 1600s to the 1800s.
John W. Peak and his sister Grace were munificent philanthropists contributing to numerous El Paso charities. John Peak was active with the El Maida Shriners in El Paso in the organization's early years and, in 1926, was named its Potentate. John and Grace were two of the donors who helped the El Paso Y.W.C.A. to open its 52-bed residence for young women. Upon their deaths in 1950 and 1954, both John and Grace left the bulk of their estates to Texas Western College (now The University of Texas at El Paso), the First Christian Church, and other charitable organizations.
