William H. Peters

William (Bill) Harris Peters, 90, of Winter Park, Florida, passed away peacefully December 7, 2018 at Westminster Winter Park.

Born February 7, 1928 New York City, he was the son of the late Col. Russell Mitchell Peters and Pauline Harris. He attended the University of Oklahoma from 1946 to 1953 with an interlude in Tokyo, Japan 19471949. During his time in Japan he attended Sophia University, a private Jesuit research school. While there he worked for Far East Forces as a draftsman, designing airfields and runways at Iwo Jima. He spent his summers at Williams Air Force Base in Chandler, AZ. In 1953, Bill earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from OU.

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He met his wife Barbara Keesler while at OU through a blind date with friends in 1952. Bill was a United States Air Force officer which led to many postings including Geneva, NY, Houston, TX, Sacramento, CA, Spokane, WA, Roswell, NM, Homestead, FL, Minot, ND, Riverside, CA and the cities of Wiesbaden and Hahn, Germany. Bill and Barbara made life-long friends in each place they lived. Bill also served two tours in Viet Nam during his Air Force career and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service. After a move to Orlando, FL in 1972 where Bill was assigned to McCoy Air Force Base (retiring in 1974) they continued to take advantage of many opportunities to travel extensively. In 1977 they completed a trip around the world, including Europe, Asia and the Middle East, with their daughter Laura. He and Barbara were actively interested in politics and were founding members of the non-partisan political club, Tiger Bay Club of Central Florida, formerly known as Bull Snort Forum. Bill also enjoyed flying private aircraft and car racing. He owned a number of interesting cars and once raced on the famous Nuremburg Ring.

He is predeceased by his wife Barbara who passed away April 20, 2018. They were happily married for 64 years. He is survived by his daughter Laura Peters Armstrong, son-in-law Wil Armstrong both of Winter Park, granddaughter Alexandra Armstrong of Orlando and nephews and nieces Bruce and Roberta Stover, Robert and Robyn Stover and Peggy and Tom Schroedter all of Oklahoma. He is also predeceased by his sister Mary Maude Hubbard, sister-in-law Ann Stover and brother-in-law Robert Stover.

The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the staff, nurses and doctors at Westminster Winter Park and Vitas Hospice.