Jack Peterson, 57; Skier and Surfer

Jack E. Peterson, who grew up in Pacific Palisades, passed away unexpectedly on July 7 at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego from acute pneumonia. He was 57. He was born August 30, 1946 in Seattle, Washington, and the family moved to Santa Monica when he was five and a few years later to Pacific Palisades. He attended local schools, Black-Foxe Academy and enjoyed being in the first graduating class from Palisades High School in 1964. He was an avid surfer at Point Dume in Malibu and loved skiing at Mammoth. Peterson graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in business and finance in 1968, and received his MBA from Pepperdine University in 1986. His lifelong interest in the stock market led to his employment as an account executive with Dean Witter and Merrill Lynch and later in banking with Union Bank and First Los Angeles Bank. In recent years he developed an interest in design and architecture, which he pursued avidly along with his lifelong interest in reading history and biographies. He will be remembered for his ready laugh, incredible memory and knowledge, unfailing interest in people and events and a positive outlook on life despite all difficulties. When he became ill, he had just returned from a family gathering in Santa Barbara celebrating the graduation of his niece, Lindsay Ross, from UCSB and then from a week in La Quinta visiting his parents. Peterson is survived by his mother, Echo June Peterson and his father, Dr. Celon A. Peterson, who was a dentist in Santa Monica and then the Palisades for 40 years, retiring in 1989. He is also survived by his sister Carol Ross (husband David) of Pacific Palisades, and his two nieces, Lindsay Ross and Kelsey Ross, the latter a student at Kenyon College in Ohio. Memorial services will be held at the Palisades Presbyterian Church on Saturday, August 21 at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Alzheimer’s Disease Research, 22512 Gateway Center Dr., Clarksburg, MD 20871.