Peter Eckey, an East Hampton native who was an engineering manager for Northrop Grumman in San Diego for 39 years, died on April 19 in Escondido, Calif. He was 72 and had been ill with cancer for three years.
Mr. Eckey entered the Navy in 1969 after graduating from East Hampton High School, and served for four years. It was after the Navy, while at Mesa College in San Diego, that he took up fencing. He began fencing and teaching the sport at renaissance fairs in Southern California, and was involved in the fairs, including as a builder, for about 10 years. He graduated from San Diego State University.
He and Catherine Welch-Eckey first met in Newfoundland, where she was serving as a Navy officer and he was working for the Air Force as a civilian. They married on Nov. 24, 1979, and settled in San Diego.
"He had a great sense of humor," she said, and was "a true renaissance man" who enjoyed cooking and "gardened like crazy."
Mr. Eckey was born in Valley Stream on May 10, 1951, to Carl William Eckey and the former Mary Maranville. He grew up on Osborne Lane in East Hampton, and although he moved away many years ago, he continued to visit almost every year. His mother still lives here.
Mr. Eckey was buried at Green River Cemetery in Springs.
