William H. “Bill” Peck, who bred No. 1 bulls in both the Guernsey and Holstein breeds, died peacefully at his home in Bacon Hill, New York, on November 2, 2026. He was 90.
His Guernsey was Welcome Choice Admiral and his Holstein was Welcome Garter-ET. Both came from Welcome Stock Farm, which Bill and his wife, Mary Lou, built together and where they raised their five children.
Bill was born July 9, 1936, to Willard H. and Elizabeth (Baker) Peck. He graduated from Schuylerville High School in 1954 and earned an associate degree from SUNY Cobleskill in 1956, then came home to breed registered Guernseys with his father.
Building the Welcome Prefix
He bought the farm in 1968. A year later he built a freestall barn and milking parlor, and when he couldn’t find enough Guernseys to fill it, he bought Welcome Stock Farm’s first registered Holsteins.
When the American Guernsey Association named him its Master Breeder in 2018, it credited him with more than 20 Welcome-prefix Guernsey sires released through artificial insemination (AI). Admiral was the best known. He ranked No. 1 through the early-to-mid 1980s and left an estimated 2,500 daughters, with many of his sons following him into AI.
Garter took the Welcome prefix to the top of the Holstein breed.
In the next generation, Bacon-Hill Holsteins LLC, a partnership of the Peck family with Tom Kugler and Jim Copper, bred Bacon-Hill Montross-ET. Select Sires reports that Montross first topped Holstein Association USA’s TPI list in December 2016.
A Two-Breed Master Breeder
National Dairy Shrine named William H. Peck its Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder in 2011, and the American Guernsey Association’s 2018 Master Breeder Award followed. New York gave him Retired Master Breeder honors in both breeds: from the New York Guernsey Breeders’ Cooperative in 2009 and from the New York Holstein Association in 2016. Welcome Stock Farm earned the American Guernsey Association’s Gold Star Breeder Award 16 years running. Bill served on the boards of Holstein Association USA, Eastern Sires (later Genex), the New York Guernsey Breeders Cooperative and the New York State Agricultural Society.
When New York Holstein breeder Adam Liddle was asked to judge the World Dairy Expo Guernsey show, he wanted Bill as his associate judge. Bill worried he’d been out of the ring too long. Liddle told him he didn’t know a better Guernsey man to share it with.
The Coffee Pot’s On
“The Welcome Mat’s Out – The Coffee Pot’s On” became the farm’s motto. Bill and Mary Lou opened their home to fellow breeders, friends, anyone who needed a place to stay, and international visitors drawn by the Welcome prefix from Europe, Japan and China. Bill followed his children’s and grandchildren’s lives closely and took pride in their achievements in agriculture, the show ring and well beyond farming.
Bill was predeceased by Mary Lou and by their daughter Kristen, who died in 1987. He is survived by his children Cindy Gallagher, Betsy Foote, Bill Peck and Neil Peck, and by four sisters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Arrangements
- Calling hours: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 5–7 p.m. | Flynn Brothers Funeral Home, 13 Gates Ave., Schuylerville, N.Y.
- Funeral service: Thursday, Nov. 12, 11 a.m. | Bacon Hill Reformed Church, 560 Route 32N, Schuylerville, N.Y. A reception follows at the Greenwich Elks Lodge, 130 Bulson Road (Route 40 South).
- Memorial donations: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Kristen Peck Memorial Scholarship Fund at SUNY Cobleskill, Bacon Hill Reformed Church or the Bacon Hill Cemetery Association.
- Full obituary and donation addresses: Post-Star obituary
The Bullvine extends its condolences to the Peck family.
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