Daniel Peterson, Sr

Daniel J. Peterson, Sr., 73 of North Plate, NE and Jeffrey Lake, NE passed away Monday, Oct. 29, 2007 at the Nebraska Heart Institute in Lincoln, NE.

Daniel was born September 27, 1934, in Grand Forks, ND. He graduated from St. Mary's High School in Bismarck, ND and DU Law School. He served in the U.S. Air Force and retired as a Lieutenant Col. from the Air National Guard. After retiring from the Federal Aviation Administration he continued a private practice in aviation law. He has been living in North Platte and Brady, NE and wintering in Mesa, AZ.

He is survived by his love, Laura Byrns of North Platte, six children, Roy and his wife Denise of Mound, MN, Rita Marie Dillon and her husband Matt of Parker, CO, Jim Peterson of Fairplay, CO, Susan Lucero of Arvada, CO, Danny Jr. and his wife Shelley of Lakeland, FL, Kathleen Mueller and her husband Ken of Golden, CO, and five grandchildren

Visitation will be held Thursday, November 1, from 10:00 am until 8:00 pm at Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel, Gothenburg, Nebraska.

Funeral services will be held at 12:00 pm, Friday, November 2, at Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel, Gothenburg, Nebraska, with Fr Donald O'Brien officiating.
Burial will take place at in the Ft. McPherson National Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to National Diabetes Association and the National Heart Association.

Good morning friends and family, at the request of my family , I am sending you a copy of the eulogy I wrote for my dad.

Today we are here to pay our last respects to my dad, our dad, our brother , our grandpa our uncle and to our friend. Yesterday Father O'brien asked us to share how we felt about our dad. All I could think of is how incredibly proud we were of him. He accomplished so many great things in his lifetime. As a young man he served in the Korean War. He put him self through Law school and after he graduated from D.U. he started his own law practice. Soon after he started his career with the FAA. After 30 some years he retired as a senior executive. During these years he also was a member of the Air National Guard from which he retired as a lutienent colonial. For both of these careers we are very proud. The most important thing he did during these years was be our Dad, and he did that well. As kids we were always cared for. We lived an old fashioned life. We knew he would be home every evening, (except Tuesdays, that was Elks night) and we knew he would be home every weekend, (except our favorite one weekend a month when he had Guard weekend, cause that meant no chores!) We knew we would go on a summer vacation. We were so lucky as children to know all of our cousins, Aunts, and Uncles through these summer vacations. Dad worked hard to make sure we all had everything we ever needed, we always knew he was there for us. As we were growing up he continued to provide both love and support for all of us. As we became adults ourselves, he was still working and moving around with the FAA, even then each of us knew he was just a phone call away. Then came the day he finally retired! He put his things in storage and he headed to Denver, the funny thing is he stopped in Brady Nebraska to visit his life long friends Ann and Tal, and he never made it home! Instead he bought a cabin on the lake and started a new life. This move turned out to be a huh blessing because it was at this cabin on the lake that he met Laura. Oh how he loved Laura! Dad loved being retired. He loved spending time with his grand kids, he loved traveling, he loved his winters in either Florida or Mexico or Arizona, and he loved his summers on the lake. We loved Dad being retired! We each spent time with him at the lake. It was wonderful to see him relax and enjoy all that he had worked so hard for. We got to watch him as he made so many new friends here in Brady, we got to watch him as he traveled to spend time with his brothers and sisters or as he and Laura took wonderful trips around the world! As I stand here and look at all of you I know how lucky we all were to have been part of his life, I know that we are all better people for having known him. I know that he was a great dad, brother, grandpa, uncle, and friend. I know that he loved each of us very much and I know that we are all going to miss him terribly. What I don't know is how we will fill the void in our hearts, because all of the sudden I realized that we have lost more then our dad, we too have lost a friend..... And so now we sill say Good Bye...... Dad thank you for everything you ever did for us. We are so very proud of you. Go now and continue your journey. Take with you the comfort of knowing each one of us loves you very much..........

On behalf of myself , Laura, and my brothers and sisters, we thank you for taking the time to read this and ask you to keep us in your prayers, Love Susan