Dr. Horace Dewey Peters Jr.

Horace Dewey Peters, Jr., 87, of Knoxville, Tennessee passed away peacefully at home on Friday, February 23, 2018 after a brief, courageous battle with cancer. Dewey attended Sequoyah Hills Elementary, Tyson Junior High and graduated from Old Knoxville High in 1949. He attended the University of Tennessee, where he was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, followed by graduating from the UT School of Dentistry in 1955. Building upon his ROTC background and desire to serve, Dewey joined the Air Force and was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Upon returning to Knoxville, he continued his service in the Air National Guard earning rank of Major while building his dental practice. In 1969, Dewey graduated with a Master of Science in Orthodontics from UT. Dewey loved being an orthodontist and caring for his patients, practicing until 2001.

Dewey was a devoted member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, where he was active in the choir and his Sunday school class. He enjoyed singing barbershop music, both in chorus and quartet. He was an avid boater and was drawn to the beautiful lakes and mountains of East Tennessee. He loved American Saddlebred Horses, a good round of golf and the Vols. But most of all, Dewey loved the Lord, his family and country.

Dewey is preceded in death by his wife of 36 years, Barbara; his parents, Horace Dewey Peters, Sr. and Mary Crowell Peters; and the mother of his children, Bettie Higdon Peters. He is survived by his children, Cynthia Peters Walsh and husband, Daniel, and Chip Peters and wife, Debbie; grandchildren, Ryan, Patrick and Connor Walsh and Eric and Chelsea Peters; sister, Jane Peters Hamilton; and Barbara’s three daughters, Jenny Alpert, Jill Durham and Joy Perrin and husband Buddy; and seven grandchildren, Casey and Lucas Scott, Justin and Logan Durham, Mallory Butler and Adam and Madisen Clabough.

A Celebration of Dewey’s Life will be held at Mt. Olive Baptist Church South on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at 11:00 am, with Pastor Kirby Ownby officiating. The interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Thompson Cancer Survival Center Foundation.

Family and friends may share their condolences online at www.highlandmemorialknoxville.com.