Walter James “Jim” Peterson, 83, who died at home on March 12, 2013, was born Feb. 16, 1930, in Rupert, Idaho. He grew up in Muldoon and went to school in Muldoon through the fifth grade until the school was closed and he finished his education in the Carey School. He graduated in 1948. He worked with his father with their sheep outfit tending camp and helping with lambing. In 1950 he married Mary Carlson and they had three kids, Jim, Karl and Carol. They farmed and ran sheep in Muldoon and on the desert south of Carey. They lambed in Carey until 1986 when Pete and Mike Cenarrusa talked them into going to Blythe, Calif., to lamb on alfalfa fields in the sunny south. This worked well until the Petersons and the Cenarrusas decided to sell to Lava Lake Lamb. At that point they retired to the ranch in Muldoon.
Jim was involved in the Idaho Wool Growers and enjoyed going to the state and national conventions. He also was a director of the Little Wood River Canal Board and the Little Wood River Flood Control District. He also helped start the Cub Scouts in Carey.
Jim and Mary enjoyed numerous trips, including one to New Zealand and Australia. They also went on a trip to Jamaica with Jim and Deb and Carol and Greg, but their favorite trips were those when they took two grandsons at a time by train to Disneyland and San Diego. Jim and Mary also went on a trip by train through the northern and western parts of Canada after they sold the sheep.
They celebrated their 50th anniversary with a party in Carey and their 60th anniversary with a barbecue at the family ranch in Muldoon.
Jim is survived by his wife, Mary; son Jim Jr. (Deb) Peterson and daughter, Carol (Greg) Gandiaga, and grandsons, Kolby (Melissa), Kourtney (Rashell), Buddy (Jennifer) and Alex (Brooke) Peterson and Kyle (Shanna) and Kris (Lena) Gandiaga. He is also survived by 14 great-grandchildren and his brother, Alan Peterson, and sister, Nancy Carlson. He was preceded in death by his son Karl, his parents, Doc and Nan Peterson, and older brother, John.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 16, at the Carey LDS church. Friends may visit one hour prior to the services. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, 500 Huntsman Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108-1235. Arrangements are under the care of Wood River Chapel Hailey, Idaho. Friends are invited to share memories or pictures and light a candle at HYPERLINK "http://www.woodriverchapel.com" www.woodriverchapel.com.
