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The Rev. Eric Peacher, 85, a retired Elder, died April 23 of Alzheimer’s disease at an assisted living facility in Timonium. The Rev. David S. Cooney officiated at his funeral April 29 at Towson UMC.

Eric Peacher was one of 11 children born to a German immigrant mother and an American father who owned and operated Peacher’s Bakery in Baltimore.

He dropped out of high school in 1944 and enlisted in the Army Air Forces. He served as a teletype operator in Stockton, Calif., until his discharge in 1946.

While there he earned his high school diploma and made the decision to become a Methodist minister. He enrolled at American University in Washington, D.C., and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1950.

He and Bernice Heflin met in 1948 at church where he was leading the singing and married in 1951 He entered Westminster Seminary (now Wesley Seminary) and graduated in 1954. He was then ordained.

Peacher was best known for his long career at Grace UMC in Baltimore, where he served  as associate minister for 22 years. But he got his start as a student minister in 1952, when he served at Great Falls. In 1956, he moved to Linden Heights and served two churches; and two years later he became assistant at Northwood-Appold UMC.  In 1961, he was appointed to Beechfield UMC.  In 1969, he was appointed as associate pastor at Grace UMC in Baltimore, where he remained until he retired in 1991.

After retiring he became minister of visitation at Towson UMC for nine years, fully retiring in 2000. "I’ve known him a good part of my life, and he was a wonderful man," Cooney said. "He was always very unassuming and was deeply interested in others."

One of the highlights of his life, according to his wife, was attending the 1963 March on Washington and hearing Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech.

During the years at Grace UMC , William Donald Schaefer, who died April 18,  was mayor and he often called on Peacher to give the invocation at City Council meetings. Peacher also invited Gov. Schaefer to guest-preach.

Peacher was chaplain for 30 years of the Boumi Temple Shriners. He was a member of the board of Western Maryland College and served as a member of the Governor’s Committee for the Handicapped.

Survivors include his wife, a son, Glenn Eric Peacher of Abingdon; a daughter, Cheryl Sovitsky of Pylesville; six grandchildren and a great-grandson.

Condolences may be sent to Bernice Peacher, 12300 Rosslare Ridge Road, #402, Timonium, MD 21093.