Kenneth Richard Petersen

Survived by his devoted wife of 61 years, Joan Petersen, his beloved dog, King, his children Debbie Rosenfelt (Todd), Louise Paskovskis (Ed), Kenneth II, Christopher, his brother Dennis Petersen (Aud), grandchildren, great grandchildren, cousins and very dear friends. Preceded in death by his parents, Thorleif and Thelma Petersen, and his oldest grandchild, Kenneth Jones.

Ken grew up on Queen Anne Hill and moved to Magnolia Hill. He attended Queen Anne High School and served in the US Army at the Presidio in San Francisco and then Germany. After his honorable discharge, he worked in the family heating oil business, Salmon Bay Oil, and then, seeing the tremendous opportunity in its early days soon became a stalwart leader in the Bering Sea crab fishery.

Ken had tremendous business acumen and, along with his various business partners, had many MARCO crabbers built starting with the F/V Ocean Spray and ending with the 165’ catcher/processor American No. 1. The A#1 was the first U.S. North Pacific trawler built to fish Alaskan waters.

An avid auto enthusiast, he enjoyed a broad range of car makes and models from classic to high performance; his favorite was his 1940 Ford. A past president of The Early Ford V-8 Club Puget Sound Regional Group, Ken maintained his car habit throughout his life. The local car dealerships have suffered a tremendous loss with his passing.

Ken loved life and lived it with excellence. He provided precious opportunities to his family and friends; those who seized those opportunities usually did very well in life. He will be deeply missed and always remembered with love. Ken’s life will be celebrated at Ray’s Boathouse on December 31 2016 1-4 pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Children’s Orthopedic Hospital or Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial.