Martin Peters

PETERS, Dr. Martin Funeral services for Dr. Ralph Martin Peters, age 81, of Cookeville will be held 11 a.m., Monday, January 21, 2008 at Cookeville First Baptist Church with Dr. Randall Atkisson officiating. Interment with Military Honors will follow in Crest Lawn Memorial Cemetery. Dr. Peters died Thursday, January 17, 2008 at Cookeville Regional Medical Center following a brief illness. He was born May 9, 1926 in Knox County, TN to the late Timothy Carpenter and Alma June Shannon Peters. Dr. Peters was a 1944 graduate of LaFollette (Tennessee) High School and a Navy veteran of World War II. He earned a Bachelors Degree from Lincoln Memorial University and Masters and Doctoral Degrees from The University of Tennessee. He had a career of over 45 years in public and private education, first as a teacher and coach at Clinton (Tennessee) High School (1949-1956) and then as an administrator and professor at Lincoln Memorial University (1956-1963). He subsequently was Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Education at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, where he retired in 1989 after 26 years of service. Following his retirement, he taught again at Lincoln Memorial University and later served as Interim President and a member of the LMU Board of Trustees. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Cookeville for almost 45 years and a past president and Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club of Cookeville. In addition to belonging to several civic organizations, he held membership in The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Delta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa and Alpha Chi. He was a member of the LMU Educators Hall of Fame and the LMU Athletics Hall of Fame. He had a lifelong interest in amateur and college athletics. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his college sweetheart and his wife for over 56 years, Lorraine Daniel Peters; his brother, Shannon Durell Peters. Dr. Peters is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Teresa and Joe Eaton of Lynn Haven, FL, Marta and Ronny Roberts of Nashville, TN; grandsons, Joseph Martin Eaton of Lynn Haven, FL and Benjamin Andrew Eaton of Lakeland, FL; granddaughter, Elizabeth Casey Roberts of Nashville, TN; nephew, Shannon Samuel Peters of Ballwin, Missouri. Active Pallbearers will be Joe M. Eaton, Ben A. Eaton, Sam Peters, Ralph Brown, Richard Barns, Ken Peterson, Lowell Smith, Nolan Goolsby and Steve Hertzfeldt. Honorary Pallbearers will be members of the Rotary Club; emeriti members of the Tennessee Tech faculty; members of the LMU Board of Trustees, faculty and staff; Dr. Nancy B. Moody, Dr. Robert Bell, Dr. Angelo Volpe, Dr. Arliss Roaden, Dr. Wallace Prescott, Dean James Seay Brown, Dr. Calvin Dickinson, Dr. Leo McGee, Bob Luna, Sam Sandlin, Dr. Walter "Pete" Helton, Brownell Bryant, John R.W. Brown, Lester McCarter, Gene Wright, Gene Doss, Charlie Morton, Ray Daugherty, Robert Long, Bill Asbury, Rudy Bunch, Shehla Rooney and Taylor Qualls. The family would like to express appreciation to the Rehab Department; nurses and staff of NHC; the caregivers and staff at Home Instead; Dr. Daniel Donovan and the nurses and staff at Cookeville Regional Medical Center; and the PTs, nurses and staff at the Blue Roof Inn. The family will receive friends on Sunday from 4-7 p.m. at the funeral home and Monday from 10 a.m. until service time at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to the Martin and Lorraine Peters Endowed Scholarship, Lincoln Memorial University, 6965 Cumberland Gap Parkway, Harrogate, TN 37752; or to the Martin and Lorraine Peters Scholarship Endowment, Tennessee Tech, Box 5111, Cookeville, TN 38505-0001. HOOPER-HUDDLESTON & HORNER FUNERAL HOME, (931) 526-1111 www.hhhfunerals.com