Born: 02/05/1943
Plainfield, New Jersey
Died: 09/01/2026
Windsor, Vermont
Details of service:
Curt Crowell Peterson of Hartland, Vermont, formerly of Weston, Massachusetts, passed away from prostate cancer on September 1, 2026.
Born in 1943, he was the son of Carl Peterson and Gladys Crowell. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Cross Peterson; his children, Jennifer, Mark, Gretchen, Heather, and Erik Peterson; his grandchildren, Ruth Peterson, Owein Labarr, Mae Peterson, and Parker Rowley; his sister, Chip Miles; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was predeceased by his granddaughter, Zoe Peterson, and his sister, Diane Mundy.
Curt was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and grew up in Watchung. He attended the Pingry School and Washington & Jefferson College, and graduated from Rutgers University. Most significantly, he was a faithful and proud alumnus of Proctor Academy (’62) or, as he called it, “the school of last resorts,” where he served on the board of trustees.
Everywhere he lived, whether in New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, or Weston, Mass, he was an active leader in community organizations, including the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce, the Scandinavian Living Center, and Trout Unlimited, where he made many lifelong friends.
Nowhere was this more true than in Hartland, where Curt was on the board of Aging in Hartland, delivered Meals on Wheels, wrote for the Mountain Times and Valley News, and raised Icelandic sheep, while also forging many deep and loyal friendships in the area, especially with the “usual suspects”: Moira and Tom Ripley, Carol and Howard Trachtenberg, Carol Stedman and Marty Banak, and Helen and Bob Stocker.
Curt will be remembered as a beloved father and friend, as well as for the cards he made for family and friends, his irreverent sense of humor, his entertaining stories, his love of dogs and sheep, his gruff kindness, and his appreciation for food, particularly pork roll. As his mother-in-law once said, “Curt never met a meal he didn’t like.” This was also true of people. Curt was genuinely interested in everyone he met, with whom he’d inevitably find points of connection, whether through family, friends, fishing, golf, Sweden, New Jersey, or his many professional endeavors. His family came to expect errands to take twice as long because of all the friends he’d run into along the way, especially at BG’s, where he was a regular fixture, often stopping by multiple times a day for coffee, a treat, and a chat.
Most of all, Curt will be remembered as a devoted husband to Jennifer, his wife of 43 years and the love of his life. He never stopped marveling at how lucky he was that she agreed to marry him, and he expressed his gratitude for her every day.
Donations in Curt’s memory may be made to Aging in Hartland or the Rutland County Humane Society.
