Peter C. Speers Jr. ’44 *49

Peter died Feb. 8, 2010, in Austin, Texas, where he had lived since his retirement in 1981.

Born and raised in India by missionary parents, he spent much of his life overseas, working in Saudi Arabia for the Arabian American Oil Co. (Aramco), which he joined after earning a bachelor’s degree from SPIA and a master’s degree in Oriental Languages and Literature at Princeton. He earned a Ph.D. in Arabic from the University of London.

Peter served during World War II in the Army Air Corps and Signal Corps in the Mediterranean area, taking part in Allied landings at Salerno and the Anzio beachhead.

Peter’s 32-year Aramco career was spent largely in Aramco’s government-relations organization, in contacts with Saudi government officials as head of the translation division, member of the Arabian-research division, and a member and later head of the policy and planning staff. He planned and edited a book on Islam, Arab history, and Aramco’s role in Saudi Arabia’s development.

Married in 1946 to Ellen Woodbury MacDaniels, who survives him, he also leaves two sons, Peter and Ted, and their families; and a sister, Constance Picco. His daughter, Martha, died in 2009.