Lance Cpl. Adam D. Peak

Lance Cpl. Adam D. Peak, 25, of Florence, Ky., died Feb. 21 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
 

By Mark Hansel • mhansel@nky.com •

FLORENCE – Family and friends say Lance Cpl. Adam Peak, the Marine from Florence that was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday, had a great sense of humor and was always looking to help someone. “He was a part of the community on so many different levels,” Katie Raverty of Rabbit Hash said of the 25-year-old Peak. “He had a passion for life and was an inspiration to many of us.” Raverty, 25, met Peak when she was a freshman at Thomas More College and he was helping with new student orientation. “He was a jokester,” Raverty said. “He always had witty comments and we became friends right away.” Sara Peak, 28, said her younger brother was very outgoing, but also had a private side. “He wouldn’t let you know his deep feelings, but he always had a line for you,” she said. “He said he would never settle down, but he was like a second father to a lot of the other Marines’ kids.” Boone County High School Principal Mark Raleigh said Peak graduated before he came to the school, but those who knew him are grief-stricken. “It’s a tragedy to lose anyone that young and we lost a fine young man who was working for all of us,” Raleigh said. “What we need to do now is focus on showing support for the family.” At Thomas More, Peak was active in the theater and in the Alpha Delta Gamma fraternity. “We both pledged to the fraternity and we lived together for a while,” said Caleb Finch, 24, a teacher at Bellevue High School. “Adam was a big-hearted, free-spirited, fun-loving guy who would do anything for anybody.” Peak graduated from Thomas More in 2006 and Richard Shuey, a business administration professor at the school, said the impact of his death is being felt throughout the close-knit college community.