John “Jack” Leuck
Pekin, Il - John Francis “Jack” Leuck, 86, of Pekin, Illinois passed away on March 8, 2025. Jack was born in January 1939 at home on the family farm in Harlan, Iowa to the late John and Leona (Nilan) Leuck.He married Joan (Petersen) on February 10, 1962 and they were married for 58 wonderful years as Jack would tell everyone. She preceded him in death on November 25, 2020. He was also preceded in death by his parents, brother Charles Leuck, sister in laws Joyce Petersen and Linda Berzina, and brother in laws Gerald Petersen and Joseph Berzina.Jack is survived by his four children, Patrick (Jonna) Leuck, Michelle (Christopher) Hutchinson, Kari (Mark) Ballinger, and Jason (Molly) Leuck. Grandchildren are Kyle Leuck, Shyrel Mckinley, Markie Davin, Kassidy Meyers, Jack Hutchinson, Amelia Hutchinson, Macy Ballinger, Kaelea Leuck, and Orion Leuck. He is survived by many great grandchildren. He is also survived by Angel, his trusty companion and friends that meant a lot to him.After serving two years in The Army as a military police officer, Jack graduated from Creighton University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Marketing in 1962. He then went on to graduate with his Juris Doctorate in Law from Creighton Law School in 1966. Jack decided to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as an agent right after graduation in 1966. The FBI took him and his family from Omaha, to Houston, and then to Atlanta. He finally settled in Peoria in 1972. Jack was promoted to Special Agent in Charge of the Peoria FBI office in 1987 and was in charge until his retirement in 1989. Jack was very active in the FBI, he was a legal instructor, taught firearms classes for many different law enforcement agencies and served as a SWAT agent for 17 years. His FBI and SWAT career led him to investigate many high-profile cases throughout the United States.After 23 years in the FBI, Jack retired and was Pekin Police Chief for 3 years before deciding to finally start practicing law. Twenty-six years after college, he finally started his law career in Peoria and Tazewell County. He served the community as an Attorney and Public Defender for another 27 years. He retired officially in 2019 after protecting and serving the community for 53 years.He loved ALL sports in this order: Creighton Blue Jays, Iowa Hawkeyes, his grandkids games, and about any other sport he could find on TV.He was an active member of The Knight of Columbus and St. Joseph’s parish in Pekin, Illinois, serving as a Lector for many years. He volunteered and supported many charities.A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 pm, Saturday, March 15, 2025 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Pekin with Father Michael Andrejek officiating. A visitation will be held the night prior from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Henderson Funeral Home in Pekin. Private entombment will be in Resurrection Mausoleum on Monday, March 17, 2025.Memorials may be made to the Center for Prevention of Abuse in Pekin, Illinois.
