Oville Joseph Peters

He leaves behind his wife of 64 years, Darleen (Hartman) Peters; his sons Greg Peters and John Peters; his daughters Nancy Weiman, Cindy Carlson and Pam Molloy; 15 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Bernard and Melvin; and many friends.

Born and raised in Nebraska, the son of Oville F. and Mary (Brandt) Peters, he moved to Colorado as a young family man and lived in Golden for 54 years before moving to Springwood Retirement.

Mr. Peters was the oldest of 7 kids all born on a farm near Harbine Nebraska. As the eldest child, he had to move to the nearby town of Beatrice, NE, at age 8, to care for his grandmother after the death of his grandfather. He eventually moved back to the farm but only until age 13 when his house became crowded and his parents struggled to make ends meet with 7 young children. Mr. Peters moved down the road to work for a German tenant farmer in trade for his room and board.

After graduating from high school in 1942, America was in the throes of WWII and after doing odd jobs for 18 months, Mr. Peters enlisted with the Marines in February of 1944. The war ended before he was deployed, but he served his country and was honorably discharged in December of 1944. He returned to civilian life, with a valuable G.I. bill to pave his way to college. When Mr. Peters was asked by a military career counselor what he’d like to study in college, he replied that he liked to grow things, liked animals, and was good at math. When the counselor made degree recommendations, Mr. Peters decided to study pharmacology simply because he liked that it had the word “farm” in it.

Mr. Peters graduated from University of Nebraska with a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and then moved to Scottsbluff, NE to work as a pharmacist at a popular drugstore in town. There, Mr. Peters met his wife, Darleen, who worked in the stores cosmetic department. They married in November of 1951, eventually moved from Scottsbluff to Morrill, a small town a short drive West. They started their family in Morrill, but once Mr. Peters landed a job in Colorado they moved to Grand Junction, Westminster and on to settle in Golden. Their 3 youngest children were born in Colorado.

Mr. Peters had a passion for the outdoors and loved to grow things in his bountiful garden, and he was an avid fisherman and hunter. He had a successful career as a pharmaceutical sales rep with the Upjohn Company for over 18 years and then went back to being a store pharmacist until his retirement.

Mr. Peters dedicated his retirement to being an exceptional Grandad. He loved having his grandkids around and spent the first year of retirement building them a grand treehouse complete with comfortable bunks, lights, heat, windows and cable tv. He spent many years adding special touches to the treehouse with the help of his grandchildren, who all adored him. Mr. Peters was a salt-of-the-earth kind of man with a gift for making friends, making people laugh, and storytelling.

Mr. Peters memorial service is being held at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary, in Wheat Ridge. Services are on June 5, 2015, at 2pm in the Pavilion