Peter B. Xiques

Though Peter Xiques passed away in late April at the age of 86, his grieving family feels as if they lost him months earlier as they saw Alzheimer's change him from a vibrant, active man to a bedridden invalid.Born on Staten Island in New York to Edith and Francis Xiques, Peter grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey and spent carefree summers in Vermont. swimming and boating at his family's lakeside summer cottage. He had hoped to travel there this summer.Peter met his wife Linda in Stuttgart Germany where he served in an Army Intelligence Unit. Linda worked as a government file clerk in the same building.Expecting to be drafted soon, he had joined the Army to be eligible for the Army Language School in Monterey, California. Hoping for French or Italian, he was assigned to study Bulgarian and became very proficient at it.Peter's wife used to tease him that "he was the smartest man in the world" because he excelled at so many things. He produced lovely oil paintings, wrote poetry, was an excellent carpenter and a designer who remodeled their modest home into a more spacious dwelling.Peter's career was equally varied. He was a professional architectural model builder and photographer. And he taught for many years at the West Valley-Mission Community College and later still at UC Davis.His many friends say they will miss talking and joking with him as he was a very sociable person and quick to help others in any way he could.His family wants to express gratitude for the sensitive care provided by the nurses of Hospice by the Bay and by the staff of Bel Marin Gardens.