Cordelia Peck; Wife Of Wyo. Senator, Son Is Editor Of Spokane Newspaper

RIVERTON, Wyo. - The wife of state Sen. Bob Peck died in a one-car accident on Interstate 80 in Carbon County, officials said.

Cordelia Peck, the mother of Chris Peck, editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, was killed Saturday when she was partially thrown from her vehicle as it rolled over about six miles west of the Elk Mountain interchange, according to Keith Rounds, of the state Transportation Department.

Mrs. Peck's vehicle rolled twice in the median after she apparently overcorrected in steering her vehicle, according to Rounds.

Officials do not know the cause of the accident.

Cordelia Peck was on the way to Cheyenne to join her husband, who is publisher of the Riverton Ranger, for the start of the Legislature, said Rep. Harry Tipton, R-Lander.

Tipton said the Pecks, of Riverton, were planning to drive to Cheyenne together Friday. Mrs. Peck had to return to Riverton midweek, Tipton said, so she took her own car.

Tipton lived 25 miles from the Pecks in Lander for almost 40 years.

"We knew her as someone who was very supportive of her husband," he said.

She was involved in politics herself, according to Tipton. She was active in the Fremont County Republican Women and was planning to attend a luncheon with the governor's wife this week.

"I know what Cordelia meant to her family and what a comfort she was to Bob," Gov. Jim Geringer said in a statement. "She was always ready to help, whether it be for her family or her community. All of Fremont County will mourn the loss of Cordelia. She was a good friend to Riverton and to the state of Wyoming."

In addition to her husband Bob, Mrs. Peck is survived by sons Steve of Riverton, George of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Chris of Spokane, Wash.; and three grandchildren.