Richard Joseph Peterson

He is survived by his wife of 74 years, Marilyn Tanner Peterson, his children Lynn Tanner Madigan (Dennis), Christopher Joseph Peterson (Janice); grandchildren Katie Madigan Kim (Patrick), Rachel Elaine Baughman (Michael), Tanner Elizabeth Peterson (Mason), Amanda Jean Peterson, Leah Christine Price (Mark) and 3 great grandchildren.

Pete Peterson graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1942 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He and wife Marilyn were married on May 17, 1942, the same day he received his assignment to the USS Gamble, which he boarded on July 2, 1942 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was discharged from the Navy in 1945 and had his first job in Birmingham, AL with Hartford Steam Boiler. Peterson moved to Childersburg, AL in 1947 and into his present home in 1953. He worked in the insurance industry for the New Hampshire Insurance Company until 1971, when he became the Executive Director of the Alabama Arthritis Foundation. Pete retired in 1985 and devoted his time to civic endeavors and to his “junk collecting”, which he called his “treasures”. He did not wish to have a funeral or memorial and was cremated as he desired. The family will spread the ashes in the location Pete had wanted. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Childersburg, Alabama.