Clifford Peterson

August 7, 1929 - October 29, 2014
Clifford Don Peterson, known to everyone as "Don" Peterson, returned to the Lord at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, October 29, 2014. Don was born in Mission, Texas to Mr. & Mrs. Clifford Peterson on August 7, 1929. He was educated at Mission High School, graduating in 1946. After high school Don attended Texas Tech, studying engineering. Don is survived by his wife Veronica Haywood-Peterson, her daughter Gillian Haywood and her husband Craig Howard, Don's daughter Rici Peterson Siebold, her husband Michael Siebold, Don's son Austin Peterson, his wife Cece and grandson Odin Peterson. Don's brother Jack, his wife Carolyn and daughter Kirsten all live in San Antonio, and Don's sister Margaret Cantrell and her husband the Rev. Richard Cantrell live near Forth Worth. Don had a truly great singing and speaking voice. After leaving college he joined various Texas radio stations as a staff announcer, finally ending up at the San Antonio CBS affiliate for two years before he joined IBM as an engineer at Kelly Field. At this time Don was working with one of the earliest computers that IBM ever produced. Later Don moved to Los Alamos to work with a team developing some of the first government computers. Don always said that IBM means "I've Been Moved" since Los Alamos was followed by moves to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Boulder Colorado and various other IBM locations. Don loved classical music, his literary interests were varied and he recently wrote and published two books. Other interests included ballroom dancing and walking with his much loved dog. In San Antonio Don's beautiful voice has taken him to singing with St. Luke's Episcopal Church choir, and he had many years acting with the Extended Run Players, as an actor, director and board member of ERP. In recent years Don has been an active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He has helped to bring various theatrical activities to St. Paul's and he has worked to support fund raising for the Montessori School at St. Paul's, Grayson Street Jazz and the music program at St. Paul's. In his local community Don became a board member of the Oakwell Farms Homeowners Association.
Don was a truly loving husband, father, brother, uncle and great friend. He believed in leaving a very gentle carbon footprint, serving his church family, community and friends. Don will be greatly missed by his family and many friends. A memorial Requiem Mass will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Grayson Street, on Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 2:00 PM, to be followed by a reception at the church. In lieu of flowers please consider making donations in Don's name to the St. Paul's Food Bank or the St. Paul's Montessori School. To leave a note for the family visit meadowlawn.net and select obituaries.