Peter Ronstadt

1942 - 2024

Peter Ronstadt, a former Tucson Police Chief, musician, and beloved husband, brother, and father, has died peacefully from natural causes, surrounded by family on Sunday, December 29. He was 82.

Peter Ronstadt was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona and attended school at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School, Doolen Junior High, and Tucson High School. He graduated from the then new Catalina High School in 1959.

Peter, the son of Gilbert and Ruthmary Ronstadt, grew up in a musical family, always singing, and learning to play the guitar. As a young boy, he was a long-time member of the Tucson Boys Chorus, where he excelled as a soprano, performing many solos from songs as varied as "Estrellita" to "Ave Maria," as the famous choir toured the U.S. When his voice changed, Peter began focusing more on the country, rockabilly and early rock and roll that was emerging at that time. He was a member of a band, The Nightbeats, which released a few singles, including "Lonesome Road Rock" and "Doreen" in 1959. These, and some others, can still be heard on YouTube and streaming services like Spotify and Apple under "Pete Ronstadt and the Nightbeats." He later teamed up with sisters, Linda and Suzy (Gretchen) to form a folk trio, The New Union Ramblers, which lasted until Linda went to California to start her own storied music career. Later, Peter would perform on Linda's famous albums of Mexican music, "Canciones de mi Padre" and "Mas Canciones," earning himself a Gold Record for the former.

Peter attended the University of Arizona, was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and earned his degree in Spanish, with minors in Latin American Government and Latin American History. During this time, he joined the Tucson Police Department in 1963, and rose through the ranks as a patrolman, detective, sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major and became the Chief of Police in 1981. During his career, Peter attended the FBI Academy at Quantico as part of a partnership with U.S. Police Departments. He was instrumental in promoting Community Policing strategies, focusing on policing from a neighborhood level. Interestingly, in 1989 as Chief, while driving to work, Peter personally responded to a report of a man running into traffic. He apprehended and detained the man, who was later convicted of having killed TV actor Rebecca Schaeffer. Peter retired from the Police Department in 1992 and then acted as a freelance consultant to various law enforcement agencies around the country. Peter was also proud to be a member of the Tucson Rotary Club, The Tucson Centurions, and was a trustee for the Southwestern Foundation for Educational and Historical Preservation.

Throughout his life, Peter enjoyed music, reading, cycling, gardening and the outdoors. An avid camper, snorkeler, scuba diver, 4-wheeler and hiker, Peter enjoyed seeing as much of his home state as he could and took many trips with his family around the Southwest. He also had some memorable family trips to England and Scotland. He enjoyed taking excursions into Mexico and enjoyed the Gulf of California from both the mainland and the Baja side. Later, he had many sailing and diving trips with his wife and their friends.

A treasured husband and beloved father and brother, Peter is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jacqueline, sister Linda, and his son Philip and daughter Mindy, as well as four grandchildren, Justin, Olivia, Mia and Levi.

Per Peter's wishes, no service will be held, but as he was a big supporter of both the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and The Salvation Army, donations to those organizations are much appreciated.