John Edgar Peterson, 78, died Oct. 21, 2013, at his home in Vero Beach.
Peterson was born on Jan. 3, 1935, in Escanaba, Mich.
He was the son of the late Edgar Gideon and Rose Loritz Peterson.
He graduated from Escanaba High School and Michigan State University where he earned both a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and a MBA.
During his time at Michigan State, he met his loving wife of 54 years, Barbara Nelson.
Survivors include his wife, Barbara; his children, Krista Peterson Seabolt and her husband William “Chip” of Holland, Mich., and Hans Edgar Peterson and his wife Siobhan, of Cornelius, N.C.; six grandchildren, Ben, Anna and Sarah Seabolt and Conner, Liam and Andrew Peterson; sister Sally Hansen and her husband John of Menominee, Mich.; and brother-in-law John Nelson and his wife Beverly of Hickory, N.C.
Peterson professional career began in 1959 in technical sales at Corning Inc.
During his 24 year tenure at Corning, Peterson held various leadership positions, including managing director for the company’s Brazilian operations in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as president of Corning Cable Systems (formerly, Siecor Corporation).
In 1983, Peterson along with colleagues founded Celwave Technologies, Inc., which was later acquired by Alcatel, Inc.
At the time of his retirement in 1994, he served as chairman and CEO of Alcatel NA, Inc.
A memorial service was held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 in the Grace Chapel at the Community Church of Vero Beach, 1901 23rd Street.
In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory can be made to The Boys & Girls Clubs of Indian River County (www.bgcirc.org), 1729 17th Avenue, Vero Beach, Florida 32960.
An online guestbook is available at www.strunkfuneralhome.com.
