02/10/1924 – 04/20/2018
Born Feb. 10th, 1924 in Everett, Bud moved with his family to Arlington in 1930, where he resided for the rest of his long life. After graduating from Arlington High School, he spent 3 years in the Army during WWII. Upon his return he helped his father run the family grocery store, “Peterson’s Grocery”, in downtown Arlington. Bud married Doris “Dip” Johnson the same year. Bud and Dip were quite a pair, and had a huge network of friends with whom they played & vacationed with all their lives. Bud spent 22 years at the grocery store before moving on to become Postmaster of Arlington, from 1968 – 1986. He was a long-time member of the Arlington Lion’s Club and the American Legion, but his main interest was music. Bud was a member of the choir at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church for over 60 years. Most people who lived in Arlington between the late 1940’s – the early 1990’s heard him sing at some point. With a beautiful baritone voice, Bud sang solos at hundreds of weddings & funerals throughout the area.
Bud was never one to run for local offices or get involved with community politics. He will not be one to have a street or building named after him. But much like Jimmy Stewart’s character (George Bailey) in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, Arlington would not be the same without him. He had a lasting impression on all who met him, and will be remembered for years to come. Bud was modest and unpretentious, but always had a smile on his face, and a much larger one on his heart. In recent years there were countless times he would be at a community event and people would come up to him, asking if he was Bud Peterson, not having seen him for many decades. They always had a twinkle in their eyes thinking back to an age of innocence, a time when life was much simpler, and treated him like a local celebrity.
Bud was preceded in death by his sister (Nona Greener) and his wife (Doris Peterson). He leaves behind his sons Dave (Sandra), Dan (Cary), 4 grandchildren & 4 great grandchildren. Many thanks to Dr. Jim Fletcher for the loving and tender care given to Bud until he passed.
