Leslie Earl Peterson Sr, 89 of East Peoria, passed away Thursday, December 27, 2018 at his home in East Peoria. Born May 26, 1929 in Camden, Illinois to Lawrence and Stella (Race) Peterson; he married JoAnn Shields on January 10, 1956 in Peoria. She preceded him in death on May 5, 2016 in Peoria.
Surviving are his children, Les (Juli) Peterson, Jr. of Morton, Debra Lowman of East Peoria, Linda (Doug) Randall of Creve Coeur, and Robert Peterson of Washington; six grandchildren, Joy (Eric), JR (Sarah), Mark, Luke, Noah and Logan; and five great grandchildren, Zachary, Ethan, Haley, Charlotte and Jude.
He was preceded in death by his stillborn son, Joseph; stillborn granddaughter, Christa, and sister, Elizabeth Maloney. Leslie was a US Army veteran serving in Alaska during the Korean Conflict.
He retired from Caterpillar Inc. in 1990 where he was a millwright.
He loved stock car racing and competed at tracks all over the Midwest. He also loved fishing, hunting, dogs and raising strawberries in his garden.
Funeral services will be at 2:00 pm Thursday, January 3, 2019 at Remmert Funeral Home in East Peoria with visitation one hour prior to the service. The Rev. Fred Doughty will officiate. Burial will follow at Roberts Cemetery in Morton. Memorials are suggested to TAPS in Pekin.
