He was born in Chicago and came to Princeton from the Canterbury School in New Milford, Conn. Peter majored in geology and wrote his thesis on the coal and oil resources of Williamson County, Ill. He was on the editorial board of the Tiger and was a member of Cap and Gown Club.
After graduation he joined the Army and served with the 97th Field Artillery Battalion at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo. Returning to Chicago, he was an investment analyst for Glore Forgan before moving to Denver as a staff geologist for E.A. Polumbus & Associates.
After three years in Denver, Peter returned to Chicago to become president of Superior Graphite Co., which had been founded by his grandfather. Peter led the company to develop an innovative continuous carbon-purification process to convert petroleum coke to graphite, which was commercially successful. The new technology enabled the company to develop products for a number of industries — from iron and steel to advanced battery systems — and to move from a small regional company to a company selling and distributing throughout the world.
Peter served on the boards of such organizations as the Wyoming Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the World Business Council.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Marina Galitzine Carney; four children; and 12 grandchildren.