Leon Peterson Obituary, Death Notice and Service Information
Leon Peterson Obituary, Death – Leon Peterson, a hero to so many of us and a guy who has left a lasting impression on more people than we can fathom, finally returned home with the help of his loved ones. He battled Parkinson’s illness for more than 20 years, which physically diminished and reduced him, yet he was still a giant among us until the very end. He was impossible to control.
Leon was born on June 13th, 1938, to Donna Eliza Boyack and Lee Robert Peterson in Lehi, Utah. Leon and his mother were left alone without a father or a husband soon after Leon was born. Leon and his mother relocated to Salt Lake City after spending seven formative years in Spanish Fork with the affection and support of cousins and extended family when she wedded a widower named Burt Greenwood. They arrived in Sugarhouse, directly across from Highland High, the former prison.
Leon adapted and prospered despite initially requiring adjustment due to his new family, step-father, and step-siblings JoAnn, Pam, and Brent. Here, Leon’s perspective began to broaden. He joined the neighborhood Edgehill Ward and soon started hanging out at the gym, playing basketball, making friends, and working the concessions. When a young mentor saw Leon’s enthusiasm for basketball, he encouraged him and—possibly more importantly—gave him his lifetime moniker. “We’ll give you a call, Pete.” They did, too. He was always known as Pete among his buddies.
Sports grew in importance to Leon as he progressed through Irving Junior High and on to South High School. nevertheless, not at the expense of side jobs. Leon loved to work, whether it was as a stock boy at Harward’s Variety Drug Store or selling nightcrawlers to anglers traveling up Parleys Canyon. After working as a salesman at Bud’s Duds in Sugarhouse for a while, Leon truly began to focus on his personal wardrobe, developing a passion for it that lasted the rest of his life.
Then a transfer to Olympus Cove’s Millcrest Road transpired. Leon always admired his stepfather’s decision to make this change and how it allowed him expand his social and other horizons. Leon then started his time in college at the University of Utah. Leon had a constant desire for more from life. Leon thought the University was lacking a social element in addition to the demands of academic life. At the Sigma Chi Fraternity, he discovered it. Leon valued his many lifelong friendships there more than anything else.