William M. “Pete” Peterson, Jr. beloved husband, father, brother, and uncle passed away on Friday, March 23, 2018 after a brief illness.
Born in Lyons, Georgia on May 29, 1946, he ventured far from home over his 71 years, but came back to the south to be closer to his large Peterson family and his darling Fernandina Beach.
Pete was a proud UGA Bulldawg before he went on to earn a PhD in inorganic chemistry from the University of South Carolina and complete a post doctoral fellowship at Tulane University in New Orleans. He began his career providing technical support at Princeton Applied Research in New Jersey. His work as a Sales and Marketing Director would eventually take him to Gamry Instruments in Warminster, PA and finally Ivium Technologies based in The Netherlands, which allowed him to head back home to Fernandina, a lifelong family haven. Over the years he could often be found with a little casual reading on corrosion and electrochemical something-or-other, but we loved him anyway. A newly retired man of leisure, he volunteered at Baptist Medical Center on the island.
Pete is preceded in death by his parents William Malcolm Peterson and Kate Betts; and his brother-in-law James T. “Sid” Couey.
He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Vicki L. Peterson, his son William M. “Little Pete” Peterson and wife Lorraine of West Chester, PA, and daughter Jennifer Brooke Peterson of Pasadena, CA; sisters Margaret Peterson and husband James Strickland of Huntsville, AL, Barbara Peterson Couey of Ailey, GA, and Dorothy Peterson and husband Franklin Alexander of Athens, GA; and 7 nieces and 4 nephews who all adored their fun-loving, guitar-playing Uncle Pete.
A Memorial Service will be held at The United Methodist Church of Mt. Vernon, GA on Thursday, March 29th at 3:00.
A visitation will be held beforehand at 2:30pm.
In his memory, donations to The Golden Retriever Foundation, the Fender Music Foundation or National Public Radio would make Pete very happy.
35 Condolences
May my sincere sympathy, thoughts and prayers be with you during this time of great sadness. His sense of humor always kept us laughing.
I have met Pete in Brazil years ago. A very happy and cordial man, My condolences to his family. I’m in thoughts to all of you !
I’m so sorry for your loss. Pete brought so much joy to everyone around him. He’ll be missed by many
Sincere condolences to all friends and family of Pete. I was lucky enough to work with him some years ago during his time in Pennsylvania. I’m shocked and saddened by the news of his passing. He always had a smile on his face and a spring in his step that was infectious when you were with him. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace my friend.
Wishing you strength for today and hope for tomorrow. He will never be forgotten.
Vicki, I am so sorry for your loss, may the memories of your 32 years together comfort you and may God give you strength. I will always remember his smile and how happy he always was to see everyone. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Love & Hugs.
Vicki, I am truly sorry for your loss. Whether we were talking about how to get people to “buy our stuff” or arguing about politics, Pete treated me with kindness, respect, and always with a smile. He will be missed, and always fondly remembered.
I am truly sorry for you loss. The good things I can say about Pete wouldn’t fit on 1000 pages here. He was one of the finest men I’ve ever met. And a great friend. He brought a smile to every person he encountered. He will be missed.
All my love… I will miss seeing you around…
He was extraordinary, outstanding,humble,honest,kind,highly intelligent,hardworking person.Feeling very very sad for irrepairable loss. God bless him and his family
Our deepest sympathy and condolences to the whole family.
We wish the family, friends a lot of strength during this difficult time.
On behalf of the team of Dutch Accounting House in The Netherlands
Sending thoughts and prayers on behalf of the EG&G PARC family of which Pete was a big part of. A life lost too soon.
My condolences to Vicki and all of Pete’s family. I had the pleasure of working with Pete for a dozen years. His professionalism made him a delight to be around and was only surpassed by his ability to make anyone smile. From customers to coworkers to friends, Pete’s presence made the world a better place. I will miss him.
Our thoughts are with you and your family. A special guy for sure!
Dear Pete, it has been nice to meet you in my life and work together.
I have learned from the professional, but more from the man: enjoing life and staying among people.
I hope that in this sad moment, these simple thoughs can support your loved ones to look forward with a smile as you used to do.
Ciao Norberto
Sorry to hear this sad news. I met Pete many times during trade shows. He is such a humble, friendly, and fun character. I miss his smile and genuine care for others around him.
Pete was as good as they come. The first time I met Pete and told him my name was “Rob Roberts,” he knew we were meant to be friends. While we always worked for rivaling companies, the competition was always friendly because that was just the kind of man that Pete Petersen was…honorable. I learned a lot from you, Pete, and you will be missed by so many. My prayers are with your family in this time of loss.
Pete will be truly missed. He was always ready with a genuine smile, a quick witty quip, and a warm handshake. Professionally, he taught me everything I know about taking care of customers. My deepest sympathies to Vick and family.
I knew Pete since the early days of Princeton Applied Research. He had an energy and a passion for the customer and the products he sold that even when I last saw him a few years ago at a corrosion show, hadn’t diminished. He will be greatly missed. My prayers and condolences go out to the family.
Unfortunately I never had the pleasure to work directly with Pete for the same company, we were always competitors. But I always looked forward to meet him at each show – a real gentleman. I am sure this is the same for everyone who knew him, but no matter how upset you felt before meeting Pete, it was always guaranteed that you would walk away with a smile on your face – he was just that kind of person, totally unique, totally genuine. He will be sorely missed by all those whose lives he touched.
So sorry to hear about Pete’s passing, he was one of the Good Guys. We had been friends for over 30 years. He was first with a smile and warm greeting. We shared a lot of good times over the years. He will be greatly missed. Our condolences to his family.
Pete was witty, wise, knowledgeable – but most of all just plain FUN. People would fight to sit next to him at dinner because they knew it would be a good time. Whereas many companies had casual Friday, we had Hawaiian shirt day ! Vicki, we grieve with you – our little world is darker without his spark and we have lost a good friend.
My deepest sympathies to Vicki and the Peterson family. Pete always had a skip on his step and brought positive energy into every room he entered. He was a pleasure to be around and I consider myself lucky to have met him.
I’m deeply saddened by this news. Pete was a friend, mentor, and great boss at PARC. I had planned to wander east to visit him after retirement, and regret not doing so. He was truly a remarkable human being, with a great sense of humor. My condolences to Vicki and the family. He will be missed.
So sorry to hear about Pete’s passing. We were Chi Psi Brothers at Georgia. He was always so thoughtful, gentle and full of fun; you wanted to be on his team, whatever it was, but also great from the sidelines to watch him run a play, bobbing and weaving as he went. He was genuine and caring and had the best smile. Brother thou hast kept the trust, True to thy Fraternal tie. Sweet be thy repose in dust, mourned and loved by all Chi Psi!
Dear Vicki and5 Family,
It was a real pleasure to have met Pete as we conversed as though we knew each other for quite some time! Such a very nice man. Our sincere condolences.
Lisa and I would like to send our sincere condolences to the family.
I am so sorry for your loss. I was Pete’s big brother in Chi Psi at UGA. We had so much fun together. He was one of those people that you always wanted to be around. He always made your day a little happier. He always would make fun of me for being a yankee from New Jersey, and I mocked him for being from just a little black dot on a map of Georgia, Mt. Vernon. I should have kept in touch, especially after he worked in Princeton. Ha! He was a good,man. I’m proud to call him my friend.
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Pete. I lived around the corner from him and his family when we were young. He was 3 years ahead of me in school, but I remember him as being a fun-loving, mischievous kind of guy. I will be praying for the family.
Pete was so knowledgable and helpful. His passing away is not only the loss of a great human being but also to those of us who relied upon him for guidance in electrochemistry.
Pete was a bright light in our lives. His big smile, energy and passion for life and his profession, engaging conversations, great sense of humor, compassion for others and positive nature will remain with us always. Vicki, our thoughts, prayers and sincere sympathy are extended to you and your family. We shall truly miss him.
I was so sorry to hear about Pete’s passing at last week’s corrosion conference. He could bring real human energy to discussion of electrochemistry, not an easy thing to do. He will be missed.
We were always competitors but really good one. I will always remember all good time we had in the past meetings and conferences…we will never forget you!
Words can’t express my sadness about Pete’s passing … I learned about it just recently … seeing and talk to him regularly at annual NACE conferences was always a bright moment I cherished … will never forget him. My sincere condolences to his family
I connected Pete during my PhD training, where I used equipment from Ivium Technologies. Pete was kind, thoughtful, sincere, and helpful to me in all my interactions with him. I only recently heard of his passing, and offer my sincerest condolences.
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