Peter J. Kingsley

Our dear father, grandfather, friend and overall bon vivant passed away peacefully on September 17, 2025. Peter John Kingsley was born January 10, 1943 as Klaus Peter Heinze in Novy Jicin, Czech Republic. Peter’s first years of life and first memories were spent in war torn Europe, which shaped his world view and lust for life. His mother was Christine Kamler, a postal clerk, and his father, Fritz Willy Heinze, a colonel in the German Army. He had an older brother, Christian Fritz Heinze, and a younger half sister, Christianne Heinze. His parents and brother died in the war, and he and his sister were sent to an American refugee camp, known as the International Refugee Organization’s (IRO) Children’s Village, in Bad Aibling, Germany. Peter has fond memories of the refugee camp and described it as Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. In 1951, when Peter was eight, he and his sister were adopted by J. Donald and Ruth Kingsley. Donald was Director General of the IRO under the Truman Administration, and Peter went from the life of an orphan to the child of an international diplomat. The Kingsley family lived in Geneva and Genthod, Switzerland; Greenwich, Connecticut; Lagos, Nigeria; and Beirut, Lebanon during Peter’s life.

Peter attended Mount Hermon School for Boys (now Northfield Mount Hermon), Middlebury College, and earned his master’s in journalism at the University of Michigan. His career spanned multiple fields: as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Botswana, as a reporter, and as a higher education public affairs administrator. Peter’s greatest career passion was as business owner and pilot of a private air charter company; becoming a pilot was the realization of a childhood dream. Peter was widely known as an avid and excellent tennis player, skier, and sailor.

Peter loved to explore the philosophical curiosities and mysteries of life and was a connoisseur of the finer things, such as martinis, pickled herring, oysters, and liverwurst. Peter’s rapier wit, opinionated viewpoints, and commitment to independent thought and critical thinking will never be forgotten by those who knew him. - “To thine own self be true.” He leaves behind his three children, Giles, Josselyn, and Julia Kingsley, her husband Jeff Smith; his grandchildren, Amelia and Mira Skehan, and Sebastian Perry; his former wife and friend Janet Swaysland; and a select group of close and loyal friends.

An informal gathering of friends and family to honor Peter will be held on Saturday, November 29th, 2025 from 2-4 pm at the Marblehead Yacht Club, 4 Cliff St, Marblehead, MA 01945

In lieu of flowers, please contact a member of Peter’s family for a donation to a tennis scholarship at the Bass River Tennis Club of Beverly, MA, or to the Democratic candidate of your choice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at eustisandcornellfuneralhome.com for Peter's family.