Thomas E. Peterson

Peterson, Thomas E. Tom Passed away peacefully on August 8, 2018 at the age of 78. Dear husband of Teri Peterson (nee Foth). Loving father of Jean Peterson, Susan Peterson, Sandra (Brian Fehrenbach) Peterson, Adam Peterson, Mandy (Tim) Louderback, and Josh Peterson. Proud grandpa of Nick, Zach, Haley, Norah, and Scarlett. Brother of Kadie (Pat) OConnor and the late James ( the late Isabel) Peterson. Thomas (Tom) received Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science degrees from Marqette University in Milwaukee. He worked as a Mechanical Engineer for 29 years at GE Medical Systems, and Allis Chalmers and Evinrude before that. He received a patent for one of his designs through GE. Outside of work, his engineering skills were put to use in other aspects of life, even as far as creating a scale drawing of each side of the house and each individual length of siding, to replace the siding on our house. Each piece of siding was carefully measured and placed so that there were no aligned seams, and each nail measured to be placed at the same distance from the bottom of each board. He was very proud of his design skills for our home, and was very hands-on and meticulous with the original building of the house and improvement projects throughout the years. He was proud of the fact that he was a resident of Greendale most of his adult life. Other than his family, cars were the major interest in Tom's life, equating many of life's events with what car he owned at the time!! He was proud of the fact that he had only owned one new car in his life - a 1964 1/2 Mustang convertible, it's premiere year. He was a member of the Early Ford V8 Club for quite a number of years, having been the owner of a 1937 Ford five window coupe. In his retirement years, he became active online with several car chatrooms, and became close friends with other enthusiasts even from other countries, like Poland and Denmark. Tom was well known by his family and close friends for sharing abundant advice on many topics, as he put it, "whether you want it or not"! He was also not shy about GENEROUSLY sharing as much of that advice as he could. All of his children knew that if they had a math question, they should be prepared for a lengthy engineering-type answer. He loved a lively discussion or debate, and sometimes seemed to have a tough exterior, but was very sensitive and openly admitted to being a lover of "chick flicks". As an added note, despite once being a Chicago Bears fan, he was converted to an avid fan, and proud owner of one share of the Green Bay Packers. Tom will be sorely missed by his wife, children, grandchildren, and extended family. His beautiful smile and wonderful sense of humor will be obviously absent from all gatherings, and daily life. We know he has been welcomed into heaven, and is at peace with others that have gone before him. We Love You!!! Visitation will be held at ST. ALPHONSUS CATHOLIC CHURCH (6060 W. Loomis Rd., Greendale) on Saturday, August 18 from 9-10:45AM. Funeral Mass at 11AM. Burial to follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.