Peter Ivan Way

Peter Ivan Way passed away June 3, 2025, in Huntsville, Alabama, after a long battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was an award-winning nurse, brilliant mind and a kind and calming presence to everyone who knew him.
Peter was born March 21, 1967, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to a mother of Hispanic heritage and a father of Mescalino Apache heritage. He was immediately placed for adoption due to an unusual and sad set of circumstances. He was later adopted by Kenneth Way and Thelma Dennis Way, and the military family relocated many times during his childhood. Peter graduated from Grissom High School in Huntsville, Alabama, where he was a scholar athlete. He earned a B.S. Degree from Georgia Southern University after spending a summer in the Czech Republic doing research related to phylogenetics.
Peter had several successful careers, working as a Licensed Dispensing Optician, an employee of Capital One and owner of a construction company in Seattle. After deciding to become a nurse, he earned an R.N. degree from Marian University. He then continued his nursing education at St. Louis University, studying for a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. While a nurse at SLU Hospital, Peter was twice awarded the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, a national recognition honoring the exceptional care nurses provide to patients and families. Unfortunately, Peter's illness interrupted his doctoral study.
He is survived by his husband and partner of 34 years David Howland; sisters Janice Mason and Rhonda Cortez; and his birth mother Erminda Aragon.
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