Francis D. "Pete" PETERSON

Enid News and Eagle Enid, Garfield Co., OK

02-02-2013

Submitted by: Jo Aguirre

Funeral service for Francis "Pete" Peterson, 95, of Enid, will be 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, at Golden Oaks Chapel, with Susan Southall officiating. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery, under the direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home. After an amazing 97 years of life, our Lord welcomed Francis D. "Pete" Peterson on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. He was born Dec. 25, 1915, in Beaumont, Texas, to Albin and Mabel Matilda Nelson Peterson and passed away Jan. 31, 2013. He graduated from Toulon High School, Toulon, Ill., in 1933.

In 1941, he entered the Army and trained at Fort Warren, Wyo. He was selected to go to Officer Candidate School at Camp Lee, Va. Upon graduation as a 2nd Lieutenant he was assigned as a Graves Registration Officer and assigned to Camp Swift, Texas, for training. In January 1943, he married Mae Beth Thompson in Austin, Texas. In April, he went overseas with his unit, which established the first American World War II cemetery in Europe with the invasion of Sicily. He was in Europe 21/2 years and was awarded the Legion of Merit. He also received a letter of commendation signed by General G.S. Patton. Upon discharge from the Army he attended the University of Texas at Austin and received a BS degree in electrical engineering. He was elected to two honorary fraternities and graduated in 1950.

His work career consisted of working for IBM as a customer engineer in Austin from 1950-1960, and then as manager of Data Processing at Champlin Petroleum in Enid, Okla., from 1960-1978, when he retired and he and his wife moved to Plano, Texas. In retirement, he worked part time as a technical assistant at EPA in Dallas from 1988-1991. In 1993, he and his wife moved back to Enid. He was selected to appear in the 1975-76 and 1977 edition of Who's Who in the South and Southwest. As a First Methodist Church member he was Chairman of the Administrative Board in 1971, Trustee in 1972-1974, and Chairman of the Finance Committee in 1973-1975. His volunteer work was Enid United Fund 1965-73, and computer assistance to Leonardo's Adventure Quest in the mid 1990s. He was a member of Enid Noon Lion's Club 1967-71, and again in 2001.

Pete was a beloved, faithful husband for Beth and he loved his three daughters and the men they married. Pete enjoyed wood working as a hobby and his great-grandchildren have chair and table sets that he made. His legacy to his family is the faith that he lived out on a daily basis. The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, Hospice Circle of Love, and the staff at Golden Oaks for their love and care for Dad.

He is survived by three daughters, Betsy and husband Dr. James Mabry (Enid), Judy and husband Bill Gregory (Enid), Jill and husband Dick Lyons (Atlanta, Ga.). Grandchildren are Jarrod Gregory and wife Becky (Las Vegas, Nev.), Bree Gregory (Moore, Okla.), Megan Butler and husband Cory (Austin, Texas), Paige DeLeon and husband Steve (Austin, Texas), Brooke Harrison and husband J.T. (Norman, Okla.), John Mabry and Wife Britni (Tulsa, Okla.); Carly, Chris, and Morgan Lyons (Atlanta, Ga.); and six great-grandchildren. He was preceded by his wife, Mae Beth.