Obituary of Larry E. Peterson

Larry Eugene Peterson, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2021 in Frankfort, Kentucky. He was born on June 26, 1948 in Belvidere, Illinois.

Larry met his wife and best friend, Janet Shell Peterson, at Southern Illinois University in 1969. While watching “The Andy Griffith Show'' in the student union, the pair established a friendship that turned into a lifetime adventure filled with travel, laughter, fun, and family.

Because of his low draft lottery number during the Vietnam War, he chose his own path by enlisting in the United States Army rather than waiting to be drafted. At Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he completed training in topographical surveying, then served his country as a surveyor in South Korea. After honorable discharge from the Army, he served in the Illinois and Kentucky State National Guards.

Larry worked in the Kentucky Department of Surface Mining as a geologist and permit reviewer until his retirement. His love of the natural world guided his career and his hobbies until the last weeks of his life. 

Larry had many passions that kept him outside and exploring year-round. He was an avid spelunker, hiker, and camper. As a caver, he helped to create maps of many caves, including Mammoth Cave. His most recent passion was searching for and mapping the locations of natural rock arches in the Red River Gorge. He organized an annual “Arch Hunter’s Weekend” in the Gorge that was attended by many nature lovers including family and friends.

Larry was an avid collector, sometimes to the loving bemusement of his family members. If you ever needed any JFK assasination books, UFO books, hiking books, carbide lamps, camping equipment, vintage soda bottles, Steelers memorabilia, football cards, or California Raisin figurines, Larry was your guy.

He was always prepared for anything. He loved packing for trips, often starting 2 weeks ahead of time. He always had first aid supplies and was thrilled to whip them out whenever anyone had the slightest scratch or injury. His swiss army keychain was the opener of many taped-up boxes and toy packaging. He lived his life in the pursuit of making other people’s days easier in small and thoughtful ways.

Larry was a devoted and life-long fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, passing his love on to his son and son-in-law. Game days would find him yelling at the TV and waving his Terrible Towel while wearing one of his many Steelers hoodies. If the Steelers lost, you had to leave him alone for a few hours to let him recover. A Steelers loss was one of the very few things that could put him in a bad mood.

Larry was an amazing gift-giver. He was always alert to possible gift giving opportunities. If you mentioned that you liked something while you were out shopping with him, you could be sure to find it wrapped, months later, under the Christmas tree or at your next birthday. He was truly one of the most selfless people in the world.

Jan and Larry loved to travel and people were always saying that they never stayed still for long. It’s true. From the Adirondack Mountains, to Spain, to England, to Disney World to Arizona - Larry and Jan were great travel buddies and always had a blast on their trips. Larry was a prolific photographer and took photos of their travels that are proudly displayed in their home.

Larry had two children, Douglas and Nancy. He was their calm in the storm, unflappable and steady. He came to every game, every play, and school event. He took them hiking, camping and caving. As his children grew to adults and got married, he welcomed his daughter-in-law Meghan and son-in-law Patrick with open arms as they quickly became part of the family. This tight-knit and close group had so much fun together and truly enjoyed spending time with each other. Many, many rounds of Rummikub and Five Crowns were played, with Larry always serving as the official scorekeeper. There were so many cabins, Christmases, laughs, campfires, and cold beers. He was a loving and interesting grandfather to his 3 grandchildren and 2 grand-dogs. His grandchildren will always remember him fondly and lovingly.

Animals loved Larry. Seriously - cats and dogs just gravitated to him. He was a faithful dog walker and cat chin scratcher. We hope that in heaven he is reunited with Muffie, Cringer, Chester, Clawdia, Rufus, and Stubby.

While Larry’s passing was sudden and shocking, his family takes great comfort in the knowledge that he lived so fully, up until the last week of his life. He was a man of great passion and interests and he never let anything slow him down or stop him from exploring. We take comfort in knowing that he was able to live on his terms until the very end.

Larry was preceded in death by his mother, Esther Stensrud, his father Darwin M. Peterson, sister Sandra Havens, and brother Darwin Peterson.

He is survived by his best friend and wife, Janet Shell Peterson, his son Douglas Peterson, his daughter-in-law Meghan Roof, his daughter Nancy Carrico, and his son-in-law Patrick Carrico. He leaves behind three grandchildren - Claire, Amelia, and Matthew Carrico. In addition, he is survived by his sister-in-law Barbara Brown, brother-in-law Jack Brown, sister-in-law Kathy Peterson, nephew Kevin Peterson, and niece Karen Peterson. He will also be missed by our family’s dogs - Ben, Rosebud, and Bridget/Brenda, as well as countless extended family members and friends. Our world is a litte dimmer today without him in it.

Larry, we can’t wait to see you again. We love you so very much. Happy trails.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Franklin County Humane Society or to the National Speleological Society.