William Miles McPeek, Jr.

W. Miles McPeek, 88, of Pennington, NJ passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 26, 2026.

Miles was born to W. Miles, Sr., and Helen B. McPeek in 1937. He grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Little Rock, Arkansas, graduating from Little Rock Central High School in 1955. He went on to study at Harvard University, earning an AB in History in 1959 and a Master's in Education in 1964. After completing his education, he moved to New Jersey and worked at Educational Testing Service (ETS) for over 34 years. At ETS, Miles oversaw the development of numerous aptitude tests for students from high school through graduate-level studies. When he noticed gender and racial gaps in test scores, he rewrote testing procedures to make the tests more fair for all groups, and his groundbreaking work continues to influence the assessment industry today.

Miles was a gentle, sweet person with laughing blue eyes. He was devoted to his family, including his beloved wife of over 45 years, Carol Dwyer, who passed away in 2024, his three children, and his five grandchildren. Miles was a sharp-eyed observer of society, and from childhood, he was passionate about equality. His unswerving sense of social justice led him to join the civil rights movement, marching with SNCC and other groups. Years later, he would sing civil rights era freedom songs to his children. He loved all children and animals, and they loved him back. As a college student, he volunteered to hold and comfort babies in the Massachusetts General Hospital. When his beard turned grey, he would start growing it out every summer so he could volunteer as Santa Claus for various children's charities, listening attentively and with patience to each child's wishes. Miles was a deeply thoughtful person with impeccable judgment, and if you had wanted to get to the truth of a matter, you would have done well to ask him for his thoughts. His wide-ranging interests included opera and bluegrass music, military history, college basketball, and fine cuisine. Miles and Carol traveled extensively in their retirement, throughout Europe, Morocco, Australia, New Zealand, and Iceland.

Miles will be deeply missed by his children, Mary Sara McPeek (Mark Abney), Robert McPeek (Natalka Freeland), and Carol-Anne McPeek (Mateo Pastore), his grandchildren, Helena Abney-McPeek, Fiona Abney-McPeek, Roxelana McPeek, Katrusia McPeek, and Rowan Pastore, and his extended family and friends.

All are welcome to a celebration of life on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at 1:00PM at The Yardley Inn, 82 East Afton Ave, Yardley PA 19067. Please RSVP by May 14 at https://rsvp.link/qo6dp