Obituary of Harold Walter Peterson

Harold “Pete” Peterson was born in Warren, Minnesota, son of Emma and Albert Peterson.  He graduated from Cathedral Catholic High School in Crookston, Minnesota.  In high school he excelled at sports: captain and quarterback of his football team and goalie on the hockey team.  With limited opportunities in a farming community, he joined the Army in 1939.  Being part of the small "regular" U.S. Army in the Third Division, he went over to Europe first and stayed on the front lines for 3 years.  He participated in opposed landings at Casablanca, Morocco; Sousse, Tunisia; Licata, Sicily; Salerno, Italy; Anzio, Italy; and at Nice, France.  The individual engagements that he fought in were too numerous to record here.  He trained his new unit in Hawaii for the invasion of Japan, but thankfully, that was not necessary.

In 1947, Pete met his wife Margaret in Chicago, Illinois.  They married a year later and subsequently had 2 children while he was stationed in San Diego, California.  He was a kind and loving husband and father.  During the 1950’s and 1960’s, he taught ROTC in San Diego and Madison, Wisconsin and served with Army Intelligence in Panama, Okinawa, and Chicago, Illinois.  Pete attended college on the G.I. Bill, and earned a B.A. with Honors from the University of Maryland in 1963.  He retired from the Army with 27 years of service.  Subsequently Pete worked for the Federal government in the Fraud Division of the Social Security Administration in Chicago. 

He retired from Federal service to Marco Island, Florida with his wife Margaret in 1982, who has pre-deceased him.  In retirement, they enjoyed the Florida sunshine, daily long walks on the beach, and social activities with the local retired officers association, among other interests.  Pete was a devoted fan of the Chicago Black Hawks, Chicago Bears, and Atlanta Braves.  He loved crossword puzzles and weekly poker games.  He enjoyed gardening and was a champion amateur bowler.  His last move was to Reston, Virginia to be closer to his daughter.  He is survived by daughter Paula (Peterson) Steinmann, son-in-law Richard Steinmann, son Neil Peterson, daughter-in-law Sarah Corley and grandchildren Karin and Peter Steinmann, and Eva and Daniel Peterson.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested to Capital Caring Hospice or the United Service Organizations (The USO).