William Creighton (Tony) Peet III
1957 - 2018
William Creighton Peet III, known throughout his life as “Tony”, was born on May 21, 1957 and passed away on January 23, 2018 after a long and valiant struggle with depression.
Tony was the son of William Creighton Peet Jr. of Rye, New York, and Helen Hope of New York City. He spent his childhood in San Francisco, first attending Town School for Boys and Cathedral School and then graduating from St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts in 1975. He graduated from Stanford University with the class of 1979, where he was Senior Class President.
Tony grew up on skis. He learned to ski at Sugar Bowl Resort on Donner Summit, where as a child, when he wasn’t flying down the mountain, he would ride for hours in the “Weasel”, the ancient red snowcat that served the community there, helping the driver with grocery deliveries and other errands.
After graduation from Stanford, Tony worked in advertising both in New York City and San Francisco, where his brilliant creativity and hilarious sense of humor shone even brighter. He eventually left his job in San Francisco to spend two years at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, where he fell deeply in love with Pacific Grove, which became his home for the rest of his life. His morning walks on Asilomar Beach sustained him daily, and the community itself became his friend.
Tony was very active politically. He was heavily involved in several presidential campaigns, where his advertising skills were strong assets. One of his more famous escapades during the Iraq war years was to hire a small plane to fly above the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament trailing a banner proclaiming “Play Golf, Not War”.
A committed supporter of numerous environmental causes, Tony was a member of the Board of Directors of LandWatch and for many years worked as a docent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Tony cared passionately about personal growth and devoted countless hours to working on himself in addition to helping others. His big heart and generous spirit endeared him to his many friends whom he loved and who loved and cared about him throughout his life. In recent years, his friends at Breakthrough Men’s Community and the Center for Spiritual Awakening in Pacific Grove were key to his well-being, sustaining him with love and support. He will be sorely missed by all whose lives he touched.
Tony is survived by his brother, Dave Austen, and his sisters, Hope Page and Lea Hooker, and six nephews and nieces. A celebration of Tony’s life will be held on Saturday, February 10th, at 11a.m. at the Center for Spiritual Awakening, 522 Central Avenue, in Pacific Grove, CA. Any memorial gifts in Tony’s name may be made to the Center for Spiritual Awakening (www. centerforspiritualawakening. org), the Ventana Wildlife Society (www.ventanaws. org), or the Esalen Institute (www.esalen.org).