Obituary of Ronald Peterson

Ronald Leigh Peterson, born September 17, 1939, died August 17, 2016 of pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Sharon, and their three children, Erik, Melissa (and husband John) and Aaron (and wife Amanda). He also leaves 9 delightful and beautiful grandchildren, Kendall, Tabetha, Mimi, Bruno, Stella, Roman, Delaney, Delilah, and last but not least, Dani. Sharing the loss are his sisters Vicky Lynn Milk and Mary Susan McDonald, as well as his “Cous-Bro” Paul Peterson and his wife, Alice, and many more cousins. Ronald was born in Chicago, Illinois to parents Melvin and Evelyn (Hansen) Peterson. His mother passed away when he was 12 years old from Rheumatic Fever. Melvin remarried to Eunice Peterson. Ron attended the University of Illinois, Chicago undergraduate division in 1958-60. He later transferred to the University Of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, graduating in 1962 with honors having earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. He was inducted as a member of the Engineering Honorary Society Tau Beta Pi and the Civil Engineering Fraternity Chi Epsilon. It was at the University where he met his future wife, then in the Elementary Education program. After graduation Ronald obtained employment as a Civil Engineer in Springfield, Illinois. Ronald and Sharon were married on June 22, 1963 and moved to Springfield. Ronald obtained a Research Assistant position at the University of Illinois, and in September of 1963, they returned to Champaign-Urbana, with Ronald enrolled in the Master of Science in Environmental Engineering Program and Sharon working to obtain her Elementary Education Degree. Ronald and Sharon graduated together in 1965 and moved to Corpus Christi, Texas where Ron had secured a position as Environmental Engineer with PPG Industries in Corpus Christi, Texas. Sharon worked as a Teacher until 1967, when she gave birth to Erik. In 1969, they moved their growing family to Tucson, Arizona, where Ron was employed with the International Filter Company (INFILCO) as a Development Engineer, and was later promoted to Chief Product Engineer for the Wastewater Treatment Division. During this time Ron was awarded a US Patent related to equipment manufactured by INFILCO. Melissa was born in Tucson in 1969. Ron continued his work as Chief Product Engineer for INFILCO, moving the family to Richmond until 1972, when he resigned and moved to New Jersey, where he had obtained a position as Chief Engineer for Komline-Sanderson Engineering Company, in Peapack, New Jersey. They bought a small farm in the NJ countryside, where they kept horses, and a few cows, pigs, and chickens. Aaron was born there in 1978. While in NJ, Ron obtained Professional Engineering Certification as a Mechanical Engineer. In 1980, when an opportunity opened to move back to Tucson to be a Project Engineer at Rubel and Hager Consulting Engineers, Ron and Sharon moved the entire family back to Tucson. Rubel and Hager worked on many cutting-edge and widespread projects. Ron designed Activated Carbon Fluid Bed Regeneration Furnaces in Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Ontario, Canada, and Saskatchewan, Canada. During this time, seeking a better way to remove toxic organic chemicals from water, Ron worked on a design for the prototype of a Ultraviolet/Hydrogen Peroxide photochemical oxidation reactor, built it in a garage, and tested it at Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Denver, Colorado. In 1990, when treatment results proved to be spectacular, Ron and other Rubel and Hager employees formed a new company, Peroxidation Systems, Inc. (PSI), to design, market, and manufacture the Perox-Pure UV/H2O2 water treatment system around the United States and parts of Europe. Ron's position in the new company was Chief Engineer and Vice-President of Operations. Hundreds of the Perox-pure units were built, one was even sold to the Biosphere II. During this period, Ron was named as Inventor or Co-Inventor on 7 US Patents related to the new UV/H2O2 technology. PSI grew to over 200 employees, and in 1993 was acquired by a Fortune 500 company. In 1994, with the company moving to new facilities in Florida, Ron remained in Tucson and retired (for the first time). During the 60's through the 90's, under the able direction of Sharon, with Ron filling in the blanks and paying the bills, the children flourished; Erik graduated from NAU, Aaron graduated from the U of A and Melissa graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City. It was in Junior High School that that Melissa met her future husband, John Fina, however they did not start dating until they were both in College. John attended and graduated from the U of A, where he was a starting Offensive Left Tackle for the Wildcats. They reside in Tucson with their children, Mimi, Bruno, Stella, and Roman. Erik obtained his Real Estate Brokers license, and now runs his own Property Management business in Sedona, AZ. He lives in Camp Verde with his children, Kendall and Tabetha. Aaron and Amanda met during their work as probation officers for Maricopa County. They married and live in Mesa with children Delaney, Delilah, and Dani. After less than 9 months in retirement, in 1995, Ron accepted a position at M3 Engineering and Technology, Inc. While working for M3, Ron obtained Professional Engineering Registration as an Environmental Engineer. After interesting and challenging projects too numerous to name, which took him to every operating, and some non-operating, copper mines in the state of Arizona, in 2008 Ron retired from M3 as VP of Environmental Engineering and Project Manager. Ron said often that the people and projects at M3 were the best of his career. Once retired, Ron and Sharon concentrated on the remodeling of their home of more than 30 years, and Ron busied himself enjoying the grandchildren and with his many projects around the house. Of particular note are some semi-massive items of fieldstone he made in the backyard He also served for three years on the Board of the Sabino Vista Homeowners Association, Inc., the last two years as President. Ron often said that once in retirement, he wondered how he ever had time to work. Ron’s latest project was the Treefillindicator and it’s website (treefillindicator.com). This is a handy device that allows you to monitor the water level in your Christmas Tree stand and to add water to maintain the level without overflowing. A Patent has been applied for this device. Ron and Sharon put these together in their shop and have marketed them around Tucson and over the internet with some success.