John Arvid Peterson ’38

John "Pete" Peterson of Seaside Park, N.J., died Aug. 17, 2004.

An avid swimmer, he became the youngest captain of the Seaside Park lifeguards and a member of the Seaside Park Lifeguard State Championship Team at age 16.

At Princeton Pete belonged to Cannon Club, was on the varsity swimming team, and graduated with honors in geology.

He was first employed by the Atlantic Refining Co. of Texas as a magnetometer operator with a geophysical oil exploration party. In 1940 he left Atlantic to join the Navy's V-7 program and served extensively on active duty from 1942-46, including attendance at the Naval War College in 1945.

Postwar, after taking graduate courses at Princeton, Pete worked for DeLaval Steam Turbine Co. of Trenton as a testing engineer and calculator. In 1949 he returned to active duty and served as operations officer of a destroyer squadron in the Pacific until 1952.

Pete was also a founding trustee of the Lawrence Township YMCA.

His wife of 50 years, Elizabeth, predeceased him, but he is survived by two sons and five grandchildren, to whom the class extends deep sympathy.

The Class of 1938