James William Peterson

James William Peterson, lovingly known as “Pete”, passed away Monday June 15, 2026. Jim shared sixty years of marriage with his beloved wife, JoAnn Peterson (Bolter), building a family that remained the center of their lives.

Jim is survived by his son, Timothy Scott Peterson and his wife, Patricia Peterson (Kennedy), his daughter, Tonya Lynn Rodriguez, and was preceded in death by his daughter, Kristin Leigh Peterson. Jim is additionally survived by his granddaughter, Veronica Maurine Rodriguez, daughter of Tonya Rodriguez and Luis Alberto Rodriguez-Velez. His Grandson, Aaron James Brack (wife Caroline Farmer), is the son of Timothy Peterson and Lisa Brack-LaFrance. Aaron has two sisters, granddaughters Aubrie LaFrance and Alyssa Briggs (married to Kyle Briggs), as well as a great-granddaughter, Rory Brack Briggs.

Jim has two siblings. He is survived by his younger brother John Randolph Peterson, who is married to Denise, and their son Thomas Randolph Peterson who has two daughters, Emma Eileen Peterson and Courtlyn Jeanne-Faye Peterson. He is predeceased by his twin sister, Jane Ruth Johnson. Jane has one son, Jens Jensen, a granddaughter Elicia Maurine Latham-Jensen (preceded in death), and one great-grandson, Hayden Paul Burrows.

Jim was born on October 22, 1941, in Atlanta Georgia, to Roscoe Floyd Peterson and Dorothea Maurine MacDonald Peterson. His father, Roscoe “Pete” Peterson, was born in 1912 in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. Roscoe was the son of Floyd James Peterson and Gertrude Elvira Hawley Peterson, who was originally from New York. Pete graduated from Eaton Rapids High School and was a successful businessman throughout his life. Operating his own excavation business before becoming owner of Peterson Plumbing and Heating, an establishment of Eaton Rapids. Roscoe was also a proud member of the Masonic fraternity. Dorothea Maurine “Mike” Peterson, Jim’s Mother, was born on March 22, 1914, in Charlotte, Michigan. She is the daughter of William Barry MacDonald and Mary Ruth VanDeusen. She graduated from Eastern High School in Lansing in 1937 and worked in a variety of secretarial positions to include the VFW National Home in Eaton Rapids. “Pete” and “Mike” shared a marriage of more than sixty years.

His life was marked with achievement, devotion to his family, intellectual curiosity, and perseverance through profound loss. Raised in Eaton Rapids, Michigan; Jim excelled athletically. As a gifted athlete Jim earned recognition for football, basketball, and baseball at Eaton Rapids High School; lettering in each for every one of his four years. Later, Jim was further recognized and inducted into the Eaton Rapids Athletic Hall of Fame. Following his time at Eaton Rapids, Jim went on to attend Michigan State University; earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1974. Jim enjoyed a distinguished career as a Manufacturing Engineer with General Motors for years, retiring in 1998.

One of the defining events of Jim's life was the loss of his daughter, Kristin, in 1980. She was only ten years old when she died from Endocardial Fibroelastosis (EFE), a rare heart disease affecting children. Her death profoundly affected him, thus shaping much of his life's journey thereafter. A search for understanding. Jim turned to the philosophy of objectivism, devoting much of his retirement to studying the nature of human knowledge and reason. He believed that understanding how people acquire knowledge was fundamentally important to understanding both human flourishing as well as suffering. Through years of study and writing, Jim sought answers to the

questions that arose from his deepest grief. Attempting to answer his questions and to share his discovered insights with others.

Jim will be remembered for his intelligence, athletic accomplishments, professional achievements, devotion to family, and his relentless pursuit of truth/understanding. Though he experienced profound sorrow; Jim never stopped seeking meaning, never stopped learning, never stopped caring, and never stopped contributing his ideas to the world.

James W. Peterson’s legacy lives on through the generations of family who loved him, just as it does through the thoughtful questions that he spent his life trying to answer.

The family invites those who knew Jim to honor his memory by carrying forward the values he held dear: reason, curiosity, independent thought, and a lifelong desire to understand the human experience.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association or a charity of your choice.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, June 22nd, 2026, at Okemos Community Church. Visitation starts at 11:00 AM, with the service at 12:00 PM and luncheon to follow.