Mike was born February 24, 1950 to William Peak and Sabra Runnenburger Peak in Oklahoma City. Mike experienced tragedy early in his life when his beautiful mother Sabra died from Polio when Mike was only two.
He spent his early years living with his maternal grandmother & grandfather – Mary B. and Ernest Runnenburger in Harrisonville, Missouri. He later spent some of his elementary years living with his father in Dallas Texas but returned to Harrisonville for his Freshman year of high school.
A Persistent Band Leader
Mike always had a love of music and took lessons in piano, saxophone and guitar. In Harrisonville High School he formed his first band, The Electrons, with Martin Foster, Gary Ferrou and Jim McClain. They became an instant hit, first performing at a local Harrisonville street fair. Mike was the leader of the band, and his energy, showmanship, vocal and musical talent inspired the other members of his band. Even further, it prompted several other Harrisonville teenagers to take up guitar and play rock ‘n roll. Mike and Gary Ferrou took turns singing lead and Mike played keyboards or rhythm guitar depending upon the song. Mike’s honest enthusiasm gave him a fantastic on-stage presence and built up a dedicated fan base for the band and himself. Few people were better liked than Mike Peak throughout his lifetime.
Michael Weaver joined as drummer in 1965, and this lineup was known as The Redcoats. When Terry Shelton, a church organist from Peculiar, joined the band on keyboards, they took the name, The King James Version.
Mike’s contribution to the teen years of his whole baby-boom generation is remembered fondly, not only in Harrisonville but throughout Cass County. The various bands he organized played regularly at the Youth Building in Harrisonville on Friday nights, gathering a steady crowd of dancers numbering about 300, at a time when enrollment at Harrisonville High was less than 400.
“This music that was so important to us, that bound us together in those days, Mike took it out of the radio and rattled our ribs with it,” one friend said. Most had never heard a rock band in-person until Mike Peak had the audacity to create one.
After graduating Harrisonville high school in 1968, Mike attended Missouri Valley College for his freshman year and then transferred to the University of Missouri in Columbia for his sophomore through senior years. While at MU, Mike played in numerous bands including “Boone County.” During this time he also started playing with John Anderson from Harrisonville and Steve Hawkins from Cameron.
While at MU, Mike became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity following in the footsteps of his father who also belonged to the same fraternity. Mike even found his father’s name carved on a beam in the crawl space under the fraternity house which was a task that many members performed to cement them to PKA history. Mike was very active after graduation in communicating with his fraternity brothers including Steve Hawkins.
After graduating from MU with a BA in Sociology, Mike and John Anderson started writing songs and performing in a two-person acoustic act called “Peak & Anderson,” playing a combination of original songs and covers by other musicians such as Brewer & Shipley, Neil Young and Buffalo Springfield. Peak & Anderson were featured in several major photographic articles in the Kansas City Star in 1973 & 1974.
Mike and John continued to play both acoustic and electric rock band engagements (With Randy Downey on drums and Bill Bicknell on bass) up until John left Kansas City for Tulsa in June of 1977.
Mike later formed an excellent cover band “The Vipers” in the 1980’s that played all over the Kansas City area sometimes playing more than five nights a week.
A Store Owner and Athlete
In 1974 Mike started a record store called “Frog Island Records” in Shawnee Kansas. Then in 1975 he acquired a Budget Tapes & Records franchise just 2 blocks North of The Plaza in Kansas City. Mike ran an excellent franchise until CDs and new music formats made traditional record stores obsolete.
Mike started a softball team, The Budget Rats, in 1976 playing in a local slow pitch softball league. The first year the team was winless, but in several years Mike developed the team to be the usual winner of the league – sometimes going unbeaten. Mike usually played catcher or pitcher and was very proud of his team.
A First-Generation Computer Expert
After closing his record store, Mike decided to go back to school to learn computer programming and data base support. This resulted in him getting a job with Universal Systems of America as an information technology specialist, and his technology career took off. Mike’s focus and determination gained successive promotions, and after many years he retired as Vice President of Database Management with the global financial services giant, Swiss Reinsurance Company.
Family Meant Much to Mike
It was during his Sophomore year at MU that he met the love of his life, Mary Helmich, and they became inseparable for the next 49 years. Mary and Mike were married in 1981. Two sons, Jeff & Will, were born to this union.
Throughout their life together Mary provided the steady, organized, pragmatic side to compliment Mike’s gregarious, outgoing, magnetic & larger-than-life personality. Mary’s impressive business career with Hallmark also added financial stability to the family.
Mike and Mary moved to Corvallis, Oregon in 2016 to be near their two sons and their four grandchildren.
Rest in Peace Michael Worth Peak and know that the world you knew treasures and honors the memory of what you gave us while on the Earth.
Mike is survived by his wife and partner of 49 years Mary Peak, his sons Jeff and Will, his four grandchildren , his three brothers Larry, Paul and Billy, and a multitude of friends & fans. By Mike’s own request, no official services are planned.
