Peter A. Whitfield Sr.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, he was the fifth of six children of his father John P. Whitfield. Peter, his brothers Francis (Scotty), Donald and his sister Gertrude (Trudy) were the four children of John’s wife Christina M. Whitfield. Peter and his four brothers (George, Jack, Scotty and Donald) all served in World War II. All the Whitfield sons returned except for Scotty who was killed in action in June 1945 in Europe a few days into the Normandy D-Day invasion. Peter was a Quarter Master Second Class (QM2) assigned to the Pacific Theater aboard LST-925. He was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained at the Battle of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945. He received an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1946.

In his working career he was employed as a textile salesman for Springs Mills, later renamed Springs Industries. He worked for Springs for 30+ years in the New York and then the Boston offices. Following retirement from Springs, Peter remained very active with Scituate’s local access cable channel, the Scituate Historical Society and the Marshfield Methodist Church.

In 1952 Peter met and soon after married Barbara Elliott of Brooklyn, New York. They were married for 63 years before Barbara preceded him in death on December 6, 2015. Together they had five children, Peter Jr., Susan, Scott, Wayne and Craig. Wayne and Craig both were diagnosed with juvenile diabetes in their teen years, which ultimately contributed to their deaths prior to their parents. Wayne and Craig were both aged 50 at the times of their deaths.

Peter is survived by his children Peter Whitfield Jr. and his wife Peg of Plymouth, Susan Whitfield of Scituate, Scott Whitfield and his wife Lisa of Phoenix, Ariz., his 13 grandchildren: Kristan (Cortinas), Stacy, Zackary (Flannery), Amanda (Flannery), Grace, Mary, Elizabeth, Simon, Catherine, Theresa, Thomas, Hope and Justin. He also had five great grandchildren: Rebecca, Michael, Alexis, Tyler and Krisaniel, as well as one great great-grandchild, Vanessa.

There will be a visitation from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb 23, 2017 at the Richardson-Gaffey Funeral Home, 382 First Parish Rd., Scituate. Funeral services will be held on Friday, Feb 24, 2017 at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church, 660 Country Way, Scituate.