McPeake remembered: ‘She was able to do what she loved for the people she loved’

LITTLE ROCK — Becky McPeake “was able to do what she loved for the people she loved.”
McPeake, of Benton, was a professor and extension wildlife specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. She died May 2.
As extension’s wildlife specialist, she conducted public outreach about a broad range of wildlife topics including urban deer, food plots, feral hogs, snakes, bears, birds, bats and invasive species. She also conducted demonstration studies about native food plots and deer repellents. McPeake was state coordinator for the 4-H Wildlife Habitat Education Program, which teaches youth and adults wildlife identification and management concepts.
McPeake came to the Division of Agriculture in 1998, joining the extension service from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
For McPeake, extension outreach was more than just a job. She married former extension beef specialist Stan McPeake, and her daughter Julia worked in extension’s communication department. Her son Jared was a 4-H member; 4-H is extension’s youth development program.
Her love for sharing knowledge was recognized in 2022 when she was named the Arkansas Forestry Association Educator of the Year. She was also part of an Extension Excellence Award-winning team for its work Advancing New Technologies for Feral Hog Control.
McPeake was honored three times during the Southern Regional Extension Forestry Awards in 2016 and 2017. She was part of a bronze-award winning team for the Conference on Wildlife Habitat Restoration on Private Lands; part of a silver-award winning team for the publication “Do-It-Yourself Feral Hog Trapping Strategy;” and part of the gold-award winning newsletter “Pest Management News” team.
“She was able to do what she loved for the people she loved,” said Tamara Walkingstick, a retired extension forester and former co-worker of McPeake’s. “It’s amazing what a person can do to keep going with all the trials she faced.”
In 1998, Tom Riley, who headed extension’s environment and natural resources section, hired McPeake for a new wildlife biology specialist position. With her new doctorate, “study of deer management at the urban interface and wildlife biology from a community engagement focus, I was sold!” he said.
“She brought an enthusiasm and willingness to participate in program design and delivery across our range of program efforts,” he said. “She created and led some of the most innovative 4-H youth education programs in the South.
Formidable legacy
“Her legacy is formidable, it will live on in both the professional and personal connections she made, or more accurately stated, she gifted us,” Riley said.

“Becky was always a professional and was a great wildlife specialist,” said Vic Ford, retired assistant vice president-extension for the Division of Agriculture. “She was a fabulous colleague. Her work with youth and with feral hogs will have positive impacts for decades to come. Her shoes will be hard to fill.”
Shane Gadberry, assistant vice president-extension for the Division of Agriculture, said “Dr. McPeake helped educate our county agents and producers on challenging issues such as black vultures and feral hogs. Her wildlife programs spanned conservation as well as controls for agricultural crop and livestock protection.
“Of all the things I can reflect on, what I remember most is her friendly smile that reflected her passion for helping others,” he said.
Mike Blazier, dean of the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, said “Becky had a great love for her work and those she worked with, and her enthusiasm and thoroughness in doing her work made Becky admired and valued by all of us.
“What impressed me most about Becky was her dedication to helping everyone on our team to the best of her ability and her fortitude and optimism through adversity,” Blazier said. “This is a hard loss and she will be greatly missed.”
Being a woman in a mostly male profession wasn’t a problem for McPeake.
“She would do anything for anyone — agents, 4-Hers, landowners. She was able to communicate with everyone,” Walkingstick said. “She was so excited about sharing her passion about wildlife, and that’ an important legacy.”
McPeake’s passion will live on.
“I'll keep with me how much her calm, friendly tone made working with her such a pleasure,” said Shannon Caldwell, 4-H Center program director for the Cooperative Extension Service. “Becky will continue to be on my mind and heart each time I see that excitement, in a young person, as they learn a fun fact about an Arkansas animal or catch their first fish, or see a king snake up close and realize each animal has its place in our world.”
Born and raised in Jefferson City, Missouri, McPeake earned her bachelor’s degree in wildlife management from the University of Missouri-Columbia, a master’s in wildlife-environmental education from Michigan State University and her Ph.D. in wildlife-human dimensions from Texas A&M University.
A funeral for McPeake is scheduled for May 10 at Ashby Funeral home in Benton. A visitation is set for 10 a.m., with the funeral at 11 a.m.