Educator, coach gladly lent a hand
Sherman Peterson was inspiring to others, whether he was teaching, coaching or being an example of healthy living, swimming laps at a local health club even in his 80s.
“He had a servant’s heart,” said his daughter, Kimberly Smith. “He just loved helping people, never said no.”
Peterson, of Conway, died Monday at Emeritus at Chenal Heights in Little Rock from stroke and heart surgery complications, his family said. He was 82. The valedictorian at Charleston High School, Peterson had a knack for education and motivation. He put those skills to use while serving in the National Guard for 30 years, and as a teacher and coach, said his son, Brent Peterson.
In 1957, he returned to his alma mater to teach high school chemistry and coach football, track and assist with basketball. Former student J.D. Hansard wrote in a 2012 Charleston Express article about Peterson’s impact as a teacher, which included a story about a document Peterson had his students sign.
“The document said, ‘The undersigned agree that if they are allowed to skip classes on Friday, they will volunteer to be decapitated on Monday,’” Hansard wrote. “I signed the document, and I think we all did.”
Peterson taught and coached at Siloam Springs High School and later taught graduate courses at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. While teaching and coaching, Peterson earned his doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
During his sophomore and junior years in the early 1960s, Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines said he played quarterback for the Siloam Springs Panthers football team under Peterson.
“He was competitive. He’d get out and push you, but there was never any foul language,” Villines said. “He respected you as a human being. To have someone like that to look up to is very meaningful.”
Villines said Peterson pushed not only his players but also himself, often going head-to-head in practice with athletes playing tackle.
“I still have memories of him coaching and [being] really humped over because his back was hurting so bad,” Villines said. “He coached through the pain.”
In 1972, Peterson became associate director of instructional services at the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
“He was in charge of selecting the textbooks used in schools,” Brent Peterson said. In 1994, he retired as supervisor for adult education in Conway, where he set up computer systems for adults taking their General Educational Development test.
“He’s all about education,” his son said.
Helping the less fortunate was also a priority for Peterson, whether it meant taking people to church or making meals for shut-ins. A devout Methodist, Peterson prayed daily with his wife and, in his 70s, took two mission trips to Chile to help repair a center that cared for the disabled.
“Sherman would join in and dance and sing,” with the disabled adults they were helping, said his wife, Jacque Peterson. “Those were moments when it was touching [for him].”
An optimist who enjoyed laughing at his own jokes, Peterson did more than touch lives.
“I can truly say he left the world better by far,” said friend and former Arkansas Gov. Dale Bumpers. “He actually made a difference because of his intelligence and integrity and his good judgment.”