Robin Kerry Peterson was born in Beach, North Dakota, June 30, 1951, to Joye Obert Peterson and Ruth Francis Woodard Peterson. He always claimed to be lucky # 13, as the last of 13 children. Robin attended the one-room schoolhouse, the Lapla Rural School, near the ancestral home. On his first day of first grade, he could already read and write and knew his multiplication tables, so he was sent home with a note that he had been a terrible disruption in the one-room schoolhouse visiting with his older sisters and brothers. So much so, that the teacher tied his shoelaces to his desk and he simply took them off.
His Mother, Ruth Woodard Peterson, had returned to Dickinson State College in the late 1950s to obtain a teaching certificate and ultimately a degree in Library Science. Robin and his older sister, Kathy, moved with her to a small rural school in Little Beaver Creek, North Dakota, when Ruth received a job teaching at a one-room school. The family moved to Watford City, North Dakota, in 1959 and Robin had to adjust to town living. Ruth was offered the position of Head Librarian at Wapato High School in 1962 and the remaining children living at home made the pilgrimage from North Dakota to the Yakima Valley. Robin was just entering Junior High School at that time and made the best of another disruption of friends and setting. He was an extremely talented musician, playing the trombone in Wapato High School Band, Orchestra and the infamous “Coherents” Dance Band. He was a talented athlete and excelled in both basketball and tennis. He was an exceptional student, and chose to attend Eisenhower High School in Yakima for his senior year in order to focus on studies and eliminate the distraction of sports. He graduated in 1969 from Eisenhower High School and enrolled in Yakima Valley Community College where he played tennis for the Yaks.
Robin studied at the French University in Aix-en-Provence in southern France in 1971. While there, he played on the University basketball team along with a few other American students. They called themselves “The All-Americans” and made it all the way to the national championship in Paris. He came home for Christmas vacation and married Kristie Kathleen Kwak in Harrah, Washington, on December 30, 1971. They spent their first 6 months of marriage in France. He graduated from Western Washington University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts in French Education. He attended Regent College in Vancouver, B.C. and earned a Masters in Christian Education. They moved back to Harrah to work on Kriss’ family farm. While there, daughter Hanna Kathleen was born in Toppenish September 14, 1975. Robin was asked to serve as Interim Pastor for the Wapato Community Presbyterian Church. He also taught French at Yakima Valley Community College during those years while deciding which Seminary to attend. Son, Amos Kerry, was born in Yakima on August 6, 1977. Six weeks after Amos’ birth, the family moved to Pasadena, California, to attend Fuller Theological Seminary. He graduated from Fuller with a Master of Divinity Degree in 1978. He was enrolled in the PhD program at Fuller and expected to return after the summer break. God had other plans for him and he was called to serve the Presbyterian Church in College Place.
Robin began his ministry at College Place Presbyterian Church Labor Day weekend, 1978. He was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, USA, at Wapato Community Presbyterian Church and Installed as Pastor at College Place Presbyterian church in January 1979. Daughters Ella Kristeen was born June 7, 1981, and Cleo Kristienne was born February 12, 1983, in Walla Walla. He served the congregation faithfully for over 30 years. He was a blessing to the community and officiated at weddings and funerals for hundreds of people. He never met a stranger and was a friend to all. His passion for sharing the love of Jesus and his devotion to Christ was evident in all he said and did. He gave sacrificially of his time and effort to the people of the Walla Walla Valley. He taught French Language at Whitman College as a visiting professor for several years and was even known to climb on top of the desk in true Robin Williams’ fashion (Dead Poet’s Society style) in order to help his students have a different perspective on the world. He loved Walla Walla Blue Devil High School Athletics and never missed a basketball or football game, tennis or wrestling match. He showed his love for people of all ages by supporting their interests and activities. He shared the love of Jesus with any and every one in the example of Christ by walking alongside them through their lives.
Growing up on a farm in North Dakota, the land was always in his heart. He bought a 65 acre farm near Whitman Mission in 1990. He raised sheep for many years as well as Walla Walla Sweet Onions and served as the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Growers Association President at one point. He raised beef cattle and horses and put up alfalfa and grass hay. The connection to the land was grounding for him. He loved to spend hours on a tractor talking to God. He walked through the cows and horses every day and felt a powerful connection to God through nature. He believed that God calls us to be good stewards of all creation and raising healthy animals was his way of fulfilling God’s command.
Robin loved his children deeply and cherished his grandchildren. He wouldn’t say he was proud of them because pride is a sin. Instead, he would say he “took great delight in his children” and that “with them he was well pleased”. He was a man who knew the value of hard work. He instilled that work ethic in his children and expected great things from them as he did himself. We all miss him terribly and will strive to be worthy of his delight. We love you, Dad.
Robin was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006. He underwent years of radiation and chemo-therapy and continued to serve his congregation throughout his physical trials. In May 2010, his lymphoma changed from a slow-growing to aggressive type. He came under care of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance in August and prepared for a stem-cell transplant. His daughter, Hanna, provided his donor stem-cells and the transplant was successful on 1/11/11. He fought valiantly to overcome the scourge of cancer. He developed Graft vs. Host Disease from the transplant and suffered from pneumonia. After six weeks in the University of Washington Medical Center, the Lord took him home peacefully, surrounded by his family and close friends on May 17, 2011. His last words to us were, “Tell the kids I love them. Tell the congregation I love them. All to the glory of God.”
Memorial contributions may be sent to the College Place Presbyterian Church for the upkeep and ministry of the Wasser House Cancer Respite home at: 325 NE Damson, College Place, WA 99324.
Robin was preceded in death by his parents and four siblings, two in infancy, and his brothers Charles & Tom Peterson. He is survived by his wife, Kriss Peterson, and his children, Rev. Hanna Peterson of Kelso, WA; Cpt. Amos Peterson, DVM, of Colorado Springs, CO, and his wife Lindsey and their two children Rhona and Thorsten; Ella Peterson Brown and her husband, Christopher, of Portland, OR; and Cleo Peterson of Seattle, WA. He is also survived by eight living siblings; Patsy Joann Pagiotas, Clifton Park, NY; Earl B. Peterson, Bozeman, MT; Noel E. Peterson, Alberta, Canada; Jan M. Peterson, West Yellowstone, MT; Harvey L. Peterson, Beach, ND; Dan E. Peterson, Bismark, ND; Ophie Hart, Palmer, AK; and Alice Kathleen Peterson, Newton, IA. Numerous nieces and nephews and their offspring round out Robin’s family who will miss him dearly.
His burial will take place in Walla Walla on Friday, May 27th, at 3:00 p.m. at Blue Mountain Memorial Gardens. A Celebration of Robin’s life will be held Sunday, July 3rd at 3pm in College Place, WA.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Going Home
My father died today. Those of you who have lost a parent know how difficult this is. You understand the enormous hole you feel in your soul. I am now among the "fatherless". We met with the doctors yesterday and discussed the future of his treatment. The prognosis for recovering from his pneumonia was only about 20%. The only way to determine what was really causing the pneumonia was a surgical procedure to take a sample of lung tissue. In order to do this, they would need to intubate him and he might not come off the ventilator. This was not an acceptable treatment for us. My dad had walked with too many families who had to make the terrible decision about terminating treatment and "pull the plug" on a loved-one. He always told us that he never wanted that situation. Especially after walking through that situation only months ago with my Uncle Tom, it was not something he was willing to go through. The doctors were a little surprised at our answer, but in the end, we made the correct choice. My Aunt Kathy is here and she stayed the night with him in the hospital. He called us at 4am and asked us to come back so that he could say goodbye. Aunt Kathy said he spent a good deal of the night talking and praying. He was making peace with his Lord. When we arrived, he told me that I would have to do the services (for him and my uncle). I told him I would be fine. It would be what he wanted. He just couldn't think about it right then. He told mom he loved her. "Tell the kids I love them. Tell the congregation I love them." We said we would. Then he said, "All for the glory of God."
This was the theme of his life. Everything to the glory of God his Father Almighty. My father was not perfect. He was impatient and quick to get angry. But he loved Jesus. He wanted everyone he met to know and love Jesus, too. He was a good man. And now he is resting in the arms of Jesus. Thank you for loving my dad. Thank you for your words of encouragement. In the most difficult days of his life he looked to you, his readers, for encouragement and purpose. He wanted to know that he left a legacy. His legacy is in you. Make a difference in the lives of others. Share Jesus with those around you.
This was the theme of his life. Everything to the glory of God his Father Almighty. My father was not perfect. He was impatient and quick to get angry. But he loved Jesus. He wanted everyone he met to know and love Jesus, too. He was a good man. And now he is resting in the arms of Jesus. Thank you for loving my dad. Thank you for your words of encouragement. In the most difficult days of his life he looked to you, his readers, for encouragement and purpose. He wanted to know that he left a legacy. His legacy is in you. Make a difference in the lives of others. Share Jesus with those around you.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Six Weeks and Counting
May 15, 2011
Hello All, this is a message from Kriss (Robin's wife) and Hanna (his daughter). It has been a long time since Robin has written and we know this has been hard on his readers. Hopefully this blog entry will give some explanation and let you know how things are going with him. It is our fervent hope that he will improve quickly and be up to writing again soon.
Yesterday was the beginning of week six of Robin's most recent bout in the hospital. He was admitted to the University of Washington Medical Center from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance infusion floor on Friday, April 8th, with a lung infection from the para-influenza 3 virus and severe gut issues from resurfacing GVHD/CMV and the Noro virus. Late afternoon on Thursday, April 28, he became very agitated and short of breath after they did an upper and lower GI trying to determine what was the cause of his continued diarrhea. He continued to have escalating problems with breathing, pain in his left side, and some confusion that he needed constant nursing care and observation. A variety of doctors, nurses, pulmonary and respiratory technicians cycled in and out of his room all night long working to get him stabilized. On Friday, April 29, when they had a bed available, they moved him into the transplant ICU unit. He was very sleepy most of the time in ICU. The pneumonia is concentrated in his left lung but is very severe. It isn't getting better or worse; which is good that it isn't continuing to decline. He is working very hard at breathing with an average of 69% oxygen supplement. This puts stress on his heart and he has some arrhythmia. This seems to have cleared up slightly.
As his own private Cinco de Mayo celebration, he was transferred to a regular transplant room and out of ICU protocols on Thursday, May 5th. It is encouraging to have him out of ICU, but even if he improves significantly, he is still looking at several more weeks in the hospital. He is very weak. He is more awake and alert, but doesn’t have the strength to walk and barely gets out of bed to the chair. Late Friday night he had an MRI and Saturday morning they did a bronchoscopy to try and find the culprit causing the pneumonia. On the chest CT Thursday, they saw a new development in the right lung as well as the left lung’s ongoing problems. He occasionally has a coughing episode when he tries to talk very much so phone calls are sometimes tricky. We all feel a bit like the turtle in the race, but hopefully progress is slow and steady. Robin is eating a bit more, but not much of anything. He seems fairly comfortable, but we can only imagine how it feels to be constantly force-fed pills, poked and prodded and surrounded by mask-clad beings. We hope he'll get back more of an appetite soon. That seems to be the best indication that progress is being achieved.
All the kids have been here to visit recently which is always a boost. Daughter Ella and son-in-law Chris were here over the Mother’s Day weekend. Son Amos came for a visit May 9th through 11th. Daughter Hanna comes up for a couple of days whenever she can and daughter Cleo pops in from time to time after classes at Seattle University. Kriss is able to print off emails and bring cards in as they arrive which is a welcome connection to the outside world. We can tell he is feeling better as he is more interested in what is going on in the world of sports. Between that and the History channel he is passing the time. We had never imagined he would have this long-term hospital stay, but there you have it. Your emails and prayers are a great comfort to him. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes.
As a pastor, Robin is normally the one giving love and support and prayers for others. It is an interesting challenge to be on the receiving end of all that now. The congregation at College Place Presbyterian Church has been such a blessing to all of us through this difficult season. They have raised funds and support and given sacrificially of their time to make our house a clean, safe environment for Robin to come home to. We hope that day is soon coming. They have sent letters and cards and calls in order to share their love and prayers with us. For the most part, we have lived by the proverb, “It is better to give than to receive” and so it is an act of grace to receive the gifts so graciously given. This is often the most difficult and humbling thing to do. And yet, this is exactly the response one must have in order to receive the wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. You can’t achieve it. You don’t deserve it. And yet there it is, freely given, ready to be humbly received. All we can do is say, “Yes, Lord, I believe You are God. And I am ready to give You my life and receive the gift of eternal life from You.” But so often, we run around trying to earn the right to receive the gift of relationship with God. It is an exercise in futility. No matter how “good” you are, you will never be perfect enough to be in relationship with God. And, thanks be to God, no matter how “bad” you are, you are never disqualified from relationship either, because frankly, it isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus.
The miracle of the incarnation is that God comes to our level and meets us where we are and changes the rules of the game. He took our place and bore our sins on that cross. And we celebrate the promise of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. The good news is that because Jesus is Risen, we no longer have to fear sin and death. Easter is about forgiveness. Easter is about new life. And as Resurrection People, we know that Robin is in God’s loving and capable hands. Whether he comes through this hospitalization with an incredible testimony of God’s miraculous healing in his body, or he is ushered into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father and joins the Saints in glory, we know that God is good. And we strive, each and every day, as Jesus’ faithful disciples, to make it not about us, but about Jesus.
Warmly in Christ,
Kriss & Hanna Peterson
Hello All, this is a message from Kriss (Robin's wife) and Hanna (his daughter). It has been a long time since Robin has written and we know this has been hard on his readers. Hopefully this blog entry will give some explanation and let you know how things are going with him. It is our fervent hope that he will improve quickly and be up to writing again soon.
Yesterday was the beginning of week six of Robin's most recent bout in the hospital. He was admitted to the University of Washington Medical Center from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance infusion floor on Friday, April 8th, with a lung infection from the para-influenza 3 virus and severe gut issues from resurfacing GVHD/CMV and the Noro virus. Late afternoon on Thursday, April 28, he became very agitated and short of breath after they did an upper and lower GI trying to determine what was the cause of his continued diarrhea. He continued to have escalating problems with breathing, pain in his left side, and some confusion that he needed constant nursing care and observation. A variety of doctors, nurses, pulmonary and respiratory technicians cycled in and out of his room all night long working to get him stabilized. On Friday, April 29, when they had a bed available, they moved him into the transplant ICU unit. He was very sleepy most of the time in ICU. The pneumonia is concentrated in his left lung but is very severe. It isn't getting better or worse; which is good that it isn't continuing to decline. He is working very hard at breathing with an average of 69% oxygen supplement. This puts stress on his heart and he has some arrhythmia. This seems to have cleared up slightly.
As his own private Cinco de Mayo celebration, he was transferred to a regular transplant room and out of ICU protocols on Thursday, May 5th. It is encouraging to have him out of ICU, but even if he improves significantly, he is still looking at several more weeks in the hospital. He is very weak. He is more awake and alert, but doesn’t have the strength to walk and barely gets out of bed to the chair. Late Friday night he had an MRI and Saturday morning they did a bronchoscopy to try and find the culprit causing the pneumonia. On the chest CT Thursday, they saw a new development in the right lung as well as the left lung’s ongoing problems. He occasionally has a coughing episode when he tries to talk very much so phone calls are sometimes tricky. We all feel a bit like the turtle in the race, but hopefully progress is slow and steady. Robin is eating a bit more, but not much of anything. He seems fairly comfortable, but we can only imagine how it feels to be constantly force-fed pills, poked and prodded and surrounded by mask-clad beings. We hope he'll get back more of an appetite soon. That seems to be the best indication that progress is being achieved.
All the kids have been here to visit recently which is always a boost. Daughter Ella and son-in-law Chris were here over the Mother’s Day weekend. Son Amos came for a visit May 9th through 11th. Daughter Hanna comes up for a couple of days whenever she can and daughter Cleo pops in from time to time after classes at Seattle University. Kriss is able to print off emails and bring cards in as they arrive which is a welcome connection to the outside world. We can tell he is feeling better as he is more interested in what is going on in the world of sports. Between that and the History channel he is passing the time. We had never imagined he would have this long-term hospital stay, but there you have it. Your emails and prayers are a great comfort to him. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes.
As a pastor, Robin is normally the one giving love and support and prayers for others. It is an interesting challenge to be on the receiving end of all that now. The congregation at College Place Presbyterian Church has been such a blessing to all of us through this difficult season. They have raised funds and support and given sacrificially of their time to make our house a clean, safe environment for Robin to come home to. We hope that day is soon coming. They have sent letters and cards and calls in order to share their love and prayers with us. For the most part, we have lived by the proverb, “It is better to give than to receive” and so it is an act of grace to receive the gifts so graciously given. This is often the most difficult and humbling thing to do. And yet, this is exactly the response one must have in order to receive the wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. You can’t achieve it. You don’t deserve it. And yet there it is, freely given, ready to be humbly received. All we can do is say, “Yes, Lord, I believe You are God. And I am ready to give You my life and receive the gift of eternal life from You.” But so often, we run around trying to earn the right to receive the gift of relationship with God. It is an exercise in futility. No matter how “good” you are, you will never be perfect enough to be in relationship with God. And, thanks be to God, no matter how “bad” you are, you are never disqualified from relationship either, because frankly, it isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus.
The miracle of the incarnation is that God comes to our level and meets us where we are and changes the rules of the game. He took our place and bore our sins on that cross. And we celebrate the promise of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. The good news is that because Jesus is Risen, we no longer have to fear sin and death. Easter is about forgiveness. Easter is about new life. And as Resurrection People, we know that Robin is in God’s loving and capable hands. Whether he comes through this hospitalization with an incredible testimony of God’s miraculous healing in his body, or he is ushered into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father and joins the Saints in glory, we know that God is good. And we strive, each and every day, as Jesus’ faithful disciples, to make it not about us, but about Jesus.
Warmly in Christ,
Kriss & Hanna Peterson
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