Gary Peterson

Gary Henry Peterson, 79, passed away at home on Sunday, January 9, surrounded by family.  Gary was born on December 7, 1942, to Claude S. and Elaine V. (Staffanson) Peterson in Portland, OR, where his father was employed building ships in support of the WWII war effort.

The Peterson family returned to Montana after the war, and Gary was joined by siblings Lorin, Marlys, Craig and Joyce, all of whom grew up in Missoula.  After completing his bachelor’s degree at the University of Montana, Gary married Kay Emily Cahlin in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota on August 21, 1965.  He completed his Juris Doctorate at The University of Montana School of Law in 1968.

Gary’s career in law led his family to establish homes in Minneapolis, MN, where they welcomed their son, Jason, in 1970; back to Missoula where son Erik arrived in 1971; and then on to Portland, OR; to Billings, MT; and finally, to Denver, CO.

An avid reader, Gary especially enjoyed gaining new insights and sharing (debating?) viewpoints with others on a wide variety of topic and interests.  Passionate about his interests, he was characteristically “all in,” whether it was building and flying model planes, running marathons, riding the Rockies, or tinkering with computer programming.

He is survived and missed by his loving wife, Kay; his son Jason, his son Erik (Andrea) and grandchildren Alexis, Brayden, Ryan, Zach, and Karlee, all of Denver.  He is also survived by brothers Lorin Peterson of Missoula, MT, Craig Peterson of Corryton, TN, sister Joyce Cole of Fort Mohave, AZ., and 32 nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his sister Marlys Farnes of Missoula.

We love you, Dear, Husband, Dad, and Papa.  Rest in peace and we will see you on the other side.

Gary's Memorial Service will be live streamed on Tuesday, the 18th at 2:00pm . . . you can view with this link: https://bxcited.com/gary-peterson/