Philip Richard "Dick" Peterson Jr.

Dick was born in Wisconsin on February 7, 1935 to the late Philip Peterson and Lorna Kopiske

Peterson. After graduating from St. Mary High School in Menasha, Wisconsin, Dick enlisted in

the Marine Corp where he served during the Korean War. After leaving the service, he enrolled

at the University of Wisconsin in Madison where he graduated with a degree in Political

Science. Dick met Frances (Fran) Schmitzer in Menasha, Wisconsin while in high school but

they did not become a couple until one summer during his college days. The two were married

61 years ago and have four children, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Dick began his career in insurance with The Aetna in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He left Wisconsin

to take a position as a surety bond underwriter with a national insurance company in Kansas

City, Missouri. He then moved back to Neenah, Wisconsin to work for the McClone Agency

opening their bond department. The opportunity arose to open the Indianapolis office of

Seaboard Surety so Dick and family relocated to Indiana. After a very successful period with

Seaboard, and then Marsh & McLennan, he joined the Herke Insurance Center as a partner and

independent insurance agent. Dick purchased a majority of the interest in the agency in the mid

1990’s and changed the name to Pillar Group Risk Management. From 1995 until his retirement

in 2008 the agency enjoyed dramatic growth.

He took great pride in the people that worked for Pillar Group. They were colleagues, family and

friends. However, his professional passion was his clients. Many have said that Dick was

instrumental in the success of their business. They appreciated his counsel and his straight

forward way of communicating. He left a legacy that many hold in high regard to this day.

Dick was one of the founding partners of Safety Management Group (SMG) in Indianapolis,

Indiana in 1990. SMG is a nationally recognized professional services organization that provides

workplace safety consulting, training, staffing, program planning and implementation. The

company is regularly recognized as a Best Place to Work as well as named among the Fastest

Growing Companies by Inc. 5000 Magazine in 2007.

Dick was one of the founding members of the Metro Indianapolis Coalition for Construction

Safety. He served on the board of the Associated General Contractors as well as advisory

boards locally and nationally. He was as humble as he was generous. One of the many

organizations he routinely supported was The Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis.

After retirement, Dick and Fran moved from Indianapolis to Virginia to be closer to family.

In addition to his work, Dick loved being by the water (especially his yearly sailing trips with

friends), his beloved Sanibel Island, reading, playing golf & tennis, traveling, spending time with

his family, and of course, his Green Bay Packers!

In addition to his parents, Dick was preceded in death by his brother Peter Peterson.

Dick is survived by Fran Peterson, their children Stuart Peterson, Paul Peterson (Judy), Raci

Matzke (Chris) and Patricia Schuebel (Martin), and his grandchildren Alec Peterson (Hannah),

Parker Peterson (Rachel), Samantha Peterson, Claire Peterson, Kaitlyn Peterson, Andrew

Matzke and Abigail Matzke, and great grandchild Preston Peterson.

A celebration of Dick’s life will be held at Westminster Canterbury of The Blue Ridge,

Charlottesville Virginia on Saturday, September 28th at 1pm. A private family memorial will be

held on Sanibel Island in Florida at a later date.

The family wishes to thank the Vista Memory and Health Care Units of Westminster Canterbury,

and Hospice of The Piedmont in Charlottesville Virginia for their loving care and support.

Memorial contributions in memory of Dick may be made to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (https://

curealz.org/giving/donate/), the Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge Foundation, 250

Pantops Mountain Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22911, or Hospice of The Piedmont in

Charlottesville (https://www.hopva.org/make-a-gift-make-a-difference/).