Obituary: Charles Edwin Peterson

February 21, 1942 - May 12, 2023

Charles Edwin Peterson of Lewisville NC. Died on Friday, May 12, 2023 at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home in Winston-Salem NC. He was born to George and Daisy Peterson, their first child and the first child born at the new hospital in Rush City Minn. He grew up free to ride his bike all over town, to swim in summer in Rush Lake and the creeks that fed into it, one running along the edge of the yard at home, and to sled the hills in winter. He loved to play baseball in high school and on the town team with men who loved the game as much as he did. Chuck attended the University of Minnesota, graduating in accounting. The summers of 1973-75 he spent at the Graduate School of Credit & Financial Management, first at Harvard University and then at Stanford University. His best working days were at the Ariens Company in Brillion, WI and later its acquisition of the Gravely Company in Clemmons NC. In later years Chuck worked as business manager of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Winston-Salem, as facilities manager at UNCSA and at the ABC stores in Forsyth County where his gift of small talking with anyone served him well.

As a young person Chuck lived only a small-town block from the Flynn family in Rush City. He walked to school with Patsy Ann Flynn for years before he paid any attention to Mary Jo Flynn, following way behind. But that was the beginning of a long and lively love story between two kids who most always knew their own minds! They married in May of 1966 and lived in Minneapolis MN, Minnetonka MN, and Brillion WI where they met and fell in love with every one of the Lopinas, the Andres, and the invincible Wilkes! Chuck and Mary Jo were blessed with beautiful babies who became beautiful human beings: Daniel, Thomas, Patrick and Molly Flynn Peterson, each most loved. Later the family moved to Clemmons and then Lewisville NC.

Chuck had a great many delights in his lifetime: he loved family gatherings, reunions of every kind, and having "company", he looked forward to time with his Cursillo friends on Tuesday mornings. He loved watching baseball especially the Minnesota Twins, he could spend hours reading newspapers and in retirement a great many books. He liked to mow his yard, plant shrubs and trees and sit back to admire his work! He was happy to be at Sunset Beach and any part of the British Isles. He loved to hold a small child close and read stories. He delighted in listening to and telling stories with his brother Bob, both sometimes laughing until they cried. And he dearly loved his dogs Duchess, Magara, Murphy, and Duffy, all his favorite and each the "best dog ever".

Remembering him are Mary Jo and their children Daniel married to Lynn Hottinger and their girls Janie and Audrey, Thomas, Patrick married to Erin McAtee and children Rory, Teddy and Knox, and Molly married to Jimmy Stansell and their children George, James and Julia. Chuck also will be missed by his sister Joyce and husband Dick Russ and their children Jenny Russ, Michael Russ his wife Heather and child Madelyn, sister-in-law Patricia Peterson, and cousin Arlen Noreen and wife Jeane and other cousins. He joins those already passed: his parents, brother Robert, all the Flynns, dear friends Milt, Diane and Jake Wilke, Nancy Andre, Thomas Lopina, Charley Taylor, and Brian Shanahan.

A gathering of family and friends will be at Vogler Funeral Home in Clemmons on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 from 6 to 8 p.m. All are welcome. A mass will be celebrated at Holy Family Catholic Church in Clemmons on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11 a.m.

Donations in memory may be made to the Hospitality House of Charlotte, 1400 Scott Avenue, Charlotte NC 28203, Our Lady of Mercy School, 1730 Link Road, Winston-Salem NC 27103, Save the Children at http://www.savethechildren.org, Piedmont Animal Welfare Alliance at http://www.paw-alliance.org, or charity of choice.