Kenneth Reed Peters

Kenneth Reed Peters was born November the Fifteenth, 1923 at Omaha’s Immanuel Hospital to parents Richard Peters and Gerry Johnson Peters. One of four children (Richard Alvin, Daniel Charles, and Patricia Ann), he spent much of his boyhood exploring the then westernmost edges of town in the Dundee area hunting rabbits with his friends and sledding on snow covered hills. Kenneth attended Dundee elementary school and later Central High School graduating in 1941. It was at Central that he met his high school sweetheart, Jeanne Anderson as just a freshman. Born with a spirit of adventure and sense of humor at times bold, you may have seen him with his friends speeding down Dodge Street or Happy Hollow Boulevard or through Elmwood Park in an old Ford, young and invincible. Kenneth enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1941, joined the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and not long after joined a greater cause, enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1943. Just before answering the call of his country, Kenneth asked for Jeanne’s hand in marriage and was engaged upon flying overseas with plans to return for a proper wedding. Kenneth served as a B-24 midship gunner flying missions over southern Europe. The only war story he ever recounted for his grandchildren was a fateful one…when he agreed to switch bomber crews with a friend, and upon returning from a sortie learned he would never see that friend or first crew again. Kenneth was proud of his service to his country and the medals bestowed upon him. He was honorably discharged in 1945 and returned to the United States to marry his high school sweetheart. Kenneth and Jeanne were married at St Margaret Mary Church in Omaha, Nebraska in 1945. They had three children of their own; Kenneth Reed Peters, David Charles Peters, and Mary Leah Johansen and took care of their nieces Sharon Van Vors and Marsha Gunia as their own children. Kenneth’s early work included ventures in Insurance and Real Estate but his true success lay in the care of animals, a constant passion of his. Kenneth and Jeanne owned and operated This ’n That for Pets, Tuckaway Kennels, and later Clearview Kennels—a successful business still run by his family to this day. All those who knew him remember Ken as a hardworker and devoted father. He was a small business owner who supported and took tender care of his family, always driven by strong values of duty, integrity, and of course extreme organization (did you ever see the man’s toolshed…?). If he ever took a break, it was to enjoy listening to Nebraska football games on the radio while raking the autumn leaves. He will be remembered as a ritualistic father always making breakfast in the mornings and more importantly, a loving father in forever unconditional ways,…even if his niece did crash the Volkswagen. Ken didn’t take retirement sitting down and beyond enjoying the backyard pool he built for his family and Fourth of July celebrations in West Omaha every summer, he loved to travel. Ken was ‘at home’ in his motor home, at least six different ones over the years, and made trips as far as Mexico, Alaska, and the west coast. Everyone, it seems, was invited to ride along over the years whether it was ferrying grandchildren across half of the country or catching up with Ken and Jeanne in Arizona where they spent many of their winters. Kenneth spent his ‘golden years’ cultivating his computer skills as an avid ‘emailer’, attending numerous reunions of wartime friends, stockpiling jokes to share with friends and family, and attending all the graduations, weddings, sports games, birthdays, and other life moments in his growing family. Kenneth was a true patriarch in his family and knew his grandchildren well, all nine of whom would claim him as a true friend just as equally as their grandpa. He lived to see the births of three healthy great-grandchildren. Kenneth was an original member of St. Pat’s Men’s Club, St. Pat’s Horizons, and an active member in the Catholic Church. Though we will all remember Kenneth in our own special ways—a retold story, a shared joke, an act of kindness, a stern taught lesson of life, a special favor, or a warm laugh—we do know he would want to be remembered modestly yet fervently as a war veteran who answered the call of his country, a comedian always eager for a laugh, a family man devoted to his children, and a caring and faithful husband. May you rest in eternal life and peace dear brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend to us all. Thank you to all for your thoughts, prayers, and remembrance.

Kenneth Reed Peters

December 21, 2007