Memorials › Abel John Evans Peterson

Abel John Evans Peterson

12 May 1920 – 29 Nov 1999

Birth	12 May 1920
Death	29 Nov 1999
Cemetery	Fort Richardson National Cemetery Fort Richardson , Anchorage , Alaska , USA
Added by	Busy Collecting Cousins xo on 13 Nov 2021
FaG	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1074913

Bio

Anchorage Daily News December 5, 1999 Anchorage resident Abel John Peterson, 79, died Nov. 29, 1999, at Alaska Regional Hospital. A memorial service was held at the Maplewood Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a visitation. A military burial with honors followed at Fort Richardson National Cemetery. Mr. Peterson was born May 12, 1920, in Salt Lake City to Rose Ethel Evans and Angus Elmer Peterson. He graduated from John Marshall High School in Los Angeles in 1938. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northern States Mission covering Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He was one of the first to direct and lead the famous Mormon Male Chorus of 1941-42. Early years at UCLA provided musical background. ''His technique is unique, his persistence tireless, his native ability boundless,'' said Fred C. Wolters. ''Out of the crude untutored voices of these elders, he fashioned a symphony as sweet and as mellow as the tones of a great organ.'' In 1943, Mr. Peterson served in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged in 1945. He married Anna Louise Stewart in 1945. Mr. Peterson earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music education from the University of Southern California. He taught at Provo High School in Utah and directed the Provo Community Chorus in major choral works. He then moved with his family to Eugene, Ore., where he received his doctorate degree in education. Mr. Peterson chaired the graduate division of the Department of Music at Northwestern State University in Louisiana from 1958-62. He was associate professor of music at Butler University in Indiana for one year and then received a position as chairman and full professor of the Department of Music at Concord College in West Virginia in 1963. After retiring, he and his wife moved to Anchorage in 1976. He accepted a position with First Presbyterian Church of Anchorage as coordinator of music and director of chancel choirs, which he held for 15 years. He was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held the office of a High Priest at the time of his death. Mr. Peterson is survived by his wife, Anna Louise of Anchorage; daughters, Charlene Joy Peterson Snodgrass of Montana and Melanie Peterson Aliff of North Carolina; sons, John Christopher of Virginia, Abel John II of Los Angeles and Craig Stewart of West Virginia; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Arrangements by Evergreen Memorial Chapel. Military Information: HA1C, US NAVY

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Family

Parents

• Angus Elmer Peterson 1884–1956
• Ethel "Rose" Evans Peterson 1885–1947

Siblings

• Yvonne Ethel Peterson Hammond 1906–1980
• Freda Louisa Peterson Bollschweiler 1910–1963

Children

• John Christopher Peterson 1948–2018 FaG
• Craig Stewart Peterson 1952–2009 FaG

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