Ronald Peterson

January 14, 1935 - November 10, 2022

Ronald Carl Peterson died peacefully at home November 10, 2022, at the age of 87, surrounded by loving family, but not his middle child, who was caught in Bay Area traffic.

Dear second husband of Anne M. “Nancy” Greenfield, who cared for him devotedly in his final years. First married for 36 years to Sheila Sullivan Peterson, who preceded him in death in 2008, and whom he met on a blind date. Loving father of Molly Peterson, Katie Peterson (Young Suh), and Michael Peterson; stepfather to M’Lis Greenfield Berry and Chris Greenfield. Grandfather to Emily Louise Suh, Grace Berry (Pablo Solanas-Martin) and Claire Berry. Beloved brother-inlaw to R. Lawrence Sullivan, Jr., M.D. (Victoria), Mary Sullivan Ward (Terence), Phillip Sullivan, and Mother Agnes of the Cross, O.C.D. Also preceded in death by his brother Laurie Peterson (Mary Ann).

Born in Jamestown, Ron and his family moved from upstate New York to California when his father started working at Soulé Steel. He attended San Mateo High School, then graduated from UC Berkeley, where he joined the Kappa Alpha Order, and graduated with a degree in engineering and an MBA. After working at

Varian in the early days of Silicon Valley, he returned to Stanford Law School, where he graduated in 1963.

Over half a century, Ron worked at Hanson, Bridgett in San Francisco; he practiced estate law, and became one of the state’s top experts on California laws governing agricultural cooperatives. Among his clients (and favorite snacks) was Blue Diamond Almonds.

He was known as “the Cougar,” thanks to a Troop 206 campout, about which you’d have to ask his son. He was a climber in his youth; his favorite place to fly fish was in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Beyond his family, he loved each river he encountered more than the last.

A memorial mass will take place at Stanford University’s Memorial Church on December 14 at 4 pm. A reception will follow.