Richard Peterson

Richard Peterson of Sun City, Arizona passed away in his sleep on September 13, 2023. Richard, born July 25,1930, had recently celebrated his 93rd birthday. His first wife of fifty-five years, Jean Peterson also of Sun City, preceded him in death with ALS in 2001. His current widow is Veronica "Vickie" Lacek. Richard is the father of four daughters, Marlene Jones, Christine Bell, Anne Zeller, and Connie Ruark. He has nine grandchildren, Jordan, Jason, Christopher, Jennifer, Amanda, Michael, Richard, Paul and Robert, and also has twenty-one great-grandchildren. Mr. Peterson was in the air force during the Korean war, creating tracking devices at Cape Canaveral, where he was noticed for his extraordinary abilities, becoming one of only 2 men selected, for certain jobs. He continued work on the Cape Canaveral creations with employment at MIT in Massachusetts, Maine, and Maryland, from which he was offered a job at Wallop's Island, Virginia, the government's secluded NASA inventors and tracking island. There he invented tracking devices, set up a tracking system, and became manager, including dealing with all the major rockets launches and landings. The system is still in use today. Richard was a classic renaissance man, with a large variety of activities for which he endeavored to excel. They included playing the banjo, violin, mandolin, and keyboard, mountain hiking, tennis, bird dog raising, hunting, body surfing, recording and engineering music, teaching musical instrument playing, camping, ballroom dancing, biking, apple & fruit tree farming, peanut growing, and more. But he is best remembered by most people he came in contact with for his extreme giving nature, his relationship with God, praying with and going out of his way to physically help, and making a difference in so many lives. The family welcomes all his friends to attend the memorial at Sun City Church of the Nazarene, 14636 North Del Webb Boulevard, Sun City, Az. 85351 at 10:30 A.M. Donations instead of flowers, if you wish, may be sent to the Church of the Nazarene for their services and help, via [email protected] or at the Memorial service