- Date Of Birth: November 7, 1920
- Date Of Death: October 6, 2018
- State: Colorado
Peterson, James S. “Pete” Sr.
Sewall “Pete” Peterson died of natural causes Saturday, October 6, 2018, in Centennial. He was one month shy of 98 years young.
Pete was born in Houston, Texas on November 7, 1920, to Howard Lynn Peterson and Carrie Brown Peterson. The family moved often during his childhood-Houston to San Antonio to Chicago to Cleveland to Mount Vernon NY, Teaneck NJ, and finally back to Chicago where he enrolled at Northwestern University. His studies were interrupted in 1943 when he served 13 months as a single engine fighter pilot in the 8th Air Force 78th Fighter Group stationed in Duxford, England. Fittingly, he named his assigned P-51 Mustang, “Wandering Boy.”
Post-war, Pete graduated from Northwestern in 1949 with a BS in geology. He then went into the petroleum industry, “wandering” through Saudi Arabia, Spain, Kenya, Tanzania, California, Louisiana, and Oklahoma for the next 24 years before settling down in Denver in 1973.
On June 26, 1954 Pete married Norma Ruth Metz in Dallas, Texas. Over their 48 years of marriage they raised two boys, Dyke and Bryan, devoting many hours carpooling the kids to swim practices and meets around the state of Oklahoma, and encouraging the boys’ not-to-be rockstar futures (Bryan was a drummer; Dyke a trumpet player). Pete and Norma loved to socialize with friends and associates, traveled often, and enjoyed landscaping and maintaining their backyard.
Pete was loved by all for his incredible quick wit and sense of humor, and often complimented for his full head of long white hair, which was part of who he was. He was ecstatic anytime any of his friends offered him a seat in one of their planes, and his greatest passion in retirement was the Colorado Chapter of the 8th Air Force Historical Society, where he is said to have “gone beyond the duty call and maintained a tight formation.”
Survivors include James Sewall “Dyke” Peterson Jr. of Centennial and his wife, Brigitte; Bryan Ray Peterson of Fort Collins and his wife Renee and extended family.
