Mr. Wallace Carroll Peterson

Wallace C. Peterson, 91, Lincoln, died peacefully on Sunday, April 15. Wally lived a bountiful life loaded with professional and personal success and passion for everything life had to offer. In a 40 year career teaching economics at the University of Nebraska, Wally touched many lives, always with a focus on making the challenging field of economics understandable and accessible to all. Born March 28, 1921, in Omaha, to Frederick and Grace Peterson, Wally graduated from Benson High School with dreams of becoming a journalist. World War II intervened and he served as a statistical officer in the Army Air Corps from 1942 until the war ended. This experience altered Wally's life in two profound ways: he changed his studies to economics and he met his wife of 41 years, Eunice Peterson, when he was stationed at Pueblo Army Air Base in Colorado. Between 1945 and 1953, Wally completed BA, MA and PhD degrees in economics from UNL and stayed on to teach until he turned 70 in 1991. He studied abroad at the London School of Economics and the Handelschochschule in St. Gallen, Switzerland and also spent two years as a Fulbright international fellow in Paris, France, and Athens, Greece, with his young family in tow. Along the way, Wally wrote many books and won major awards for his contributions to economics and teaching. His first book was published by the University of Nebraska Press in 1962 and his last in 1992, including two major economics textbooks. One of Wally's proudest accomplishments in writing was the 1981 presentation of the Champion Media Award for Economic Understanding to him in New York City for a bi-weekly newspaper column called "Money in America" that was published in small newspapers across Nebraska. Wally held many leadership positions over the years, including ten years as Chairman of the Department of Economics, President of the Faculty Senate, President of the Association for Evolutionary Economics and Chairman of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. He was active in local and state politics, running in the Democratic primary for United States Senate in 1970 and 1972. From teaching to writing to public service, Wally was honored with a long list of awards, including the University of Nebraska's Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity, the Outstanding Professor Award, the Veblen-Commons Award; and the Doc Elliot Award from the Nebraska Alumni Association in 2005. In 2011, Wally was one of the first inductees into the University of Nebraska Economics Hall of Fame. While poor eyesight kept Wally from becoming a pilot during World War II, he fulfilled a lifelong dream to fly by becoming a private pilot in 1959. He flew with passion and for pleasure for more than 40 years. One of his proudest moments was receiving a U.S. National Record for "The first single engine light airplane to take off and land in all capital cities of the Western Continental United States in 1989" from the National Aeronautic Association. Wally was preceded in death by his wife Eunice in 1985; his second wife Bonnie in 1996; and two older brothers. To family and friends, Wally was a loving and gentle man who could be remarkably funny, often when least expected. We will miss him so much, but Wally left an indelible imprint on those lucky enough to spend time with him. He is survived by son and daughter-in-law, Cary and Lisa Peterson, of Lincoln; daughter and son-in-law, Shelley and Ed Bishop of Council Bluffs, Iowa; granddaughers Laura of Omaha and Becca of Sherman Oaks, California; grandson Andrew and his wife Abbey Peterson of Carmel, Indiana; grandson Blair and his wife Susanne Bishop of Omaha; and a new great grandson, Preston Peterson, born on April 9, 2012.