- Date Of Birth: November 4, 1936
- Date Of Death: May 10, 2010
- State: New Mexico
Father John Peterson, OFM,
died May 10, 2010
Father John Peterson, a native of Portland, OR, passed on to eternal life after a lifetime filled with compassion, dedication, and kindness to those he served as a friar and as a priest.
The son of William D. Peterson and Catherine M. O’Brien, Father John was born in 1936. Fr. John is survived by Patricia Ann Anstett, sister; William Peterson, brother; and lots of nieces and nephews. He entered the Franciscan order in 1956 and professed solemn (lifetime) vows in 1960. He was ordained in 1963 by Bishop Timothy Manny at Old Mission Santa Barbara.
A few years after ordination, Father John sailed for the Philippines where he ministered in Guihulngan and Cana-on. After 7 years as a missionary in the Philippines, Fr. John returned to the states for two years, ministering at Ascension Parish in Portland, OR and Ss. Simon and Jude Parish in Huntington Beach, CA. He then returned to the Philippines where he was Superior of the Missions in Guihulngan and served in “St. John’s Mountain Clinic” and “Huntington Beach Philippine Clinic.”
In 1983, Father John returned from the Philippines and shortly thereafter moved to Guaymas, Mexico ministering alongside his good friend, Father Marty Gates, OFM. Father John returned to the states for a brief period, ministering at St. Mary Basilica, Phoenix, AZ; St. Joseph Apache Mission, Mescalero, NM and as chaplain to the elderly and infirm friars in Santa Barbara. He eventually returned to Guaymas, Mexico in 1993 as part of Casa Franciscana, until arriving at St. Francis de Paula Parish in Tularosa, NM in 2003.
Fr. John spent six years as pastor of St. Francis de Paula Parish before stepping down due to illness. Fr. Max Hottle, OFM was sent to take Fr. John’s place as pastor, he describes his dear friend as “a man of deep feelings and demanding emotions; full of empathetic compassion for those who suffer, a ‘wounded healer’ who is clearly loved by the people here.
