Virginia Peck Apted was a Grand Rapids native, growing up in the city in the early twentieth century. Her account of her childhood and young adulthood provides valuable insight into the social scene in Grand Rapids during this time. 

Daughter to Mary Ellen Peck (nee Ferris) and Percy Peck, Virginia came from conspicuous roots. Her mother, Mary Ellen, or “Ella,” was not “a club woman,” but nonetheless made a mark in Grand Rapids as a member of the YWCA board and cofounder of the American Association of University Women. Before coming to Grand Rapids, she grew up in St. Louis, then attended the University of Michigan, where she met Percy Peck.

Percy Peck was the heir to the successful Peck’s Drugstore, located on the corner of Division and Monroe Avenue. He held degrees in law and pharmacy, and even practiced dentistry. Although he has a pharmaceutical background, Percy  “did not want to be in the drug business,” but felt pressured by his family to do so. The drugstore is often remembered in connection to the infamous Peck murders of Percy’s parents, Hannah and John Peck, in 1915 and 1916, when Virginia was 9 years old. 

Despite the tragedy in her family, Virginia Peck had a mischievous and very social childhood in Grand Rapids. She recalled dressing up and getting into trouble with the neighbor children, making clay beads from the soil in vacant lots around the city, and attending tea dances. At her family’s drugstore, she would “treat” her friends, and has “no idea that it cost anything,” much to the chagrin of the store’s manager. 

Aside from her childhood antics, Virginia also took French and piano lessons to prepare her for her adventures ahead.When she reached adolescence, she was sent to boarding schools away from Grand Rapids. In 1919, when she was 13, she first attended Rosemary Hall in Greenwich, Connecticut. Then, she attended Miss Madiera’s until 1922. Being unsuccessful at the “regimented” boarding school life, she decided she needed a change. In 1923, at 16, she left with an aunt to live and study in Europe. She first lived in Switzerland, then in Paris. In Paris, Peck studied piano, even taking monthly lessons from famed composer Isadore Phillipp. 

After her extended stint overseas, Virginia Peck returned to Grand Rapids in 1926. It was then she reconnected with her high school sweetheart, Brad Apted. A college graduate with a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Harvard, Apted designed and built plaster mills for his deceased father’s plaster business in Grand Rapids. The couple got engaged in 1928, and were married in 1930. They welcomed two daughters, Mary Ellen and Dora Apted.

Throughout her adult life, Virginia stayed active in the Grand Rapids community. Following her life in Paris, she was invited to be the president of the Alliance Francaise, a club about French culture and language. She also served on the Butterworth Hospital board and the art museum board. But the club that was most near and dear to her heart was the Shakespeareana Club, which she held membership in from 1932 through the 1990s. At club meetings, Virginia and other club members would discuss Shakespeare’s works in great detail and raise money for a robust Shakespeare collection at the public library.

Until she moved in the 1990s, Virginia, a born and raised Grand Rapidian, remained involved and active in her community. Virginia passed away on July 13, 2004, and was buried in her hometown.

Sources

This biography is adapted from a transcript of an oral history interview with Mrs. Apted in 1990. To learn more about our oral histories, click here.

“Virginia Mary Peck Apted.” FindAGrave. Accessed July 31, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25678154/virginia-mary-apted.