Peter Birkett Huber

Peter Birkett Huber

Peter Birkett Huber, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away at his home in Richmond, Va., on May 22, 2025. He was born September 12, 1945, in Santa Barbara, Calif., and raised in Peoria, Ill., by Mary (Birkett) and Will Huber. Mary was a high school librarian, and Will was a salesman for the Squirt Bottling Company. He is survived by his beloved wife, Margaret; his former wife, Mary; and his brother, Tom; his sons, Birkett (Jennifer) and Ben (Sara); and adoring grandchildren, Elliot, John, Tilden, Mason, and Morgan.

Peter was an Eagle Scout in high school. He was a graduate of Bucknell University (1967) and earned his Ph.D. in anthropology at Duke (1974). His dissertation was based on two years of ethnographic research in a remote village in Papua New Guinea which he did with his first wife and young sons. After teaching for several years at Princeton University he founded a Richmond based market research company, PBHuber, Inc., using the methods of cultural anthropology to help corporations understand their marketplaces. Peter continued to work until his death, but in the last two years he also completed a book manuscript based on his research in New Guinea and began a second book, called Accidental Anthropologist, a memoir of his research in the corporate world.

A Midwesterner to his core, he was always skeptical of received wisdom, and therefore capable of providing valuable perspectives and insights to his corporate clients. An avid reader, always enthusiastic about pretty much everything, from sports, to politics, to the geology of rivers, he was a great companion and friend to all who knew and loved him. Many will have fond memories of the dinners he cooked and of their road trips with them. We will miss him.

A memorial and celebration are planned for September 13, 2025.

To honor Peter's memory, the family requests donations be made to the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse, in Staunton, Va.