Hightstown athletic director dies at 42
Jim Peto was a coach, an administrator, an athletic director, and most of all, he was a family man.
Sadly, Peto was taken from us way too early as he passed away on Thursday at the young age of 42.
Peto was the athletic director at Hightstown High, an administrator in the East Windsor system and the Colonial Valley Conference coordinator for ice hockey.
Prior to becoming the athletic director in 2015, he was the Rams baseball coach. He loved the game, playing at Council Rock High in Pennsylvania and then West Chester University. He coached the Hightstown team to over 100 wins during his tenure.
He was dedicated to his job and always wanted to do everything the right way. Most of all. he was dedicated to his wife, Amanda, and their two children.
“He was a good friend and he always wanted to do things the right way,’’ said Notre Dame athletic director Rich Roche. “He is the model that a young AD would look up to. You wanted to be like Jim Peto if you were a young AD. I’m devastated and I’m going to miss him so much. We worked so much together and my heart is completely broken.’’
There are a lot of broken hearts. Peto touched a lot of people in so many ways.
I’m personally very thankful for our friendship. First sitting next to each other in the Mercer County Skating Center press box, then as the CVC coordinator for ice hockey and also as a reporter chatting on the sidelines at Hightstown.
“He was a guy that I knew always had the best interest of the conference at heart,’’ said Robbinsville/Allentown ice hockey coach Dan Bergan. “He was a really good guy.’’
This area has been hit hard
with the passing of Mercer County sports icons recently, and now we’ve lost another.
“He was a very good friend, tremendous baseball coach and an even better person,’’ said former Hightstown athletic director Gary Bushelli, who Peto succeeded. “He was a great family man and they were always his first priority. It’s a tremendous loss and it’s going to be hard for me to get through this.’’
The news sent shock waves through the conference and through the area as Peto was someone who earned respect by the way he did his job and by the way he lived his live.
Our sympathies are with his wife and children. They will always be in our thoughts and prayers, and I for one will always cherish our wonderful working relationship, but most of all our friendship.