David A. Peterson

David A. Peterson, 91, of Boca Raton, Fla., formerly of Harrisville, died on Sunday, May 31, 2015 at his home. He was born July 22, 1923 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Nels and Olga (Natwick) Peterson. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II from January 1943 to September 1945. He served with the First Special Service Force (FSSF), or “Devil’s Brigade”, which was a joint American-Canadian commando unity compromised of 1,800 men that conducted missions from July 9, 1942 until December 5, 1944. Mr. Peterson started his civilian career as a lineman for Consumer’s Power, but soon found a job working as a heavy equipment operator, a skill he learned in the Army. He worked in that profession for 41 years, until he retired. He was also a business agent with the Operating Engineers Local No. 324. On December 7, 1957, he married Wanda Gray in Wyandotte, Mich., where they were longtime residents. They moved to Harrisville in 1988. Mr. Peterson was a train enthusiast. His love for trains began as a boy growing up in Harrisville, watching them come and go at the Harrisville Train Depot. He was one of the founding members of VFW Post No. 6466, which was chartered on April 7, 1946, with 67 members. He was an active member and served as commander for approximately 10 years, before moving to Florida in 2009. On February 3, 2015, Congress awarded the First Special Service Force with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor that Congress bestows. A member of the unit, Mr. Peterson received an individual bronze cast of the medal. Mr. Peterson is survived by his daughter, Carol (Jan) Reinertsen of Norway; two grandsons Hakon Reinertsen and Ole Reinertsen; and four great grandchildren, Aleksander, Nathalie, Vilde, and Emily all of Norway. He was preceded in death by his wife, Wanda, on May 3, 2009, and his stepson, Michael Jones on December 12, 1999. Visitation will be Monday, June 8, 2015 from11:00 AM until the funeral service at 1:00 PM at Gillies Funeral Home in Lincoln. Rev. Mary Soderholm will officiate. Burial will be in Springport Cemetery, Harrisville. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of David A. Peterson, please visit our flower store.