Melvin Dee Peterson

Melvin Dee Peterson, age 75, passed peacefully away in Nampa, Idaho on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.

Mel was born September 21, 1948 in St George, Utah, the fourth son of Clifford and Grace Nelson Peterson. He spent his childhood and growing up years in Littlefield, Az. He loved Littlefield and thought it was heaven helping on the family ranch, swimming in the Virgin River, picking melons, radishes, and onions, riding horses and whatever else little boys do.

He attended Littlefield Elementary and later Virgin Valley High School. He played football and basketball and graduated with a class of 26 students.

He went to Brigham Young University for a year before leaving to serve a 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in what was then the North Central States Mission-which consisted of the southern half of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and parts of North and South Dakota. He was a desert rat who served his first winter in Minot, North Dakota-usually one of the coldest spots in the US.

After his mission he returned to BYU to finish up his degree in accounting. While there, he and his 5 roommates hired a little dairy farm girl named Linda Stoehr from Shawano, Wisconsin to be their cook. Mel must have loved her and her cooking because they were married 9 months later in the St George temple on June 4, 1971.

Their first two children, Corri and CM were born in Provo, Utah while Mel was finishing his degree and graduating, which he did in April of 1974. Their little family moved to Littlefield, Arizona after graduation where they added three more children to the family: Seth, Nathan, and Amanda. They lived in Littlefield for the next 46 years, built a home, raised their family and retired.

Mel loved people. He loved to visit and learn their stories. He loved genealogy and reading the stories of his ancestors and getting to know them. He spent more than a year planning and carrying out a Peterson cousins’ family reunion last year. He worked on a story and slide presentation for months and it was a highlight of his retirement years.

He was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many callings through the years, usually ward clerk as he was good with numbers. He also served as Elders Quorum president, teacher, ward missionary, high councilman, Bishop, and others, and then 23+ years as the Stake executive secretary, serving under 3 stake presidents. He loved serving with each of those presidencies and loved and admired those men greatly. He learned so much from them and enjoyed their friendship.

He is survived by his wife, Linda, of Middleton, Idaho, two daughters; Corri (husband Robert) of Payson, Utah, and Amanda (husband Glen) Hughes of Henderson, Nevada, and three sons; CM (husband George) of Tuscon, Arizona; Seth, of Caldwell, Idaho; and Nate (wife Cindy) of Caldwell, Idaho; 21 grandchildren and their 5 spouses, and 7 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Grace Peterson, baby sister, Virginia Grace, and his brother, Ken, his father and mother-in-law, Aubrey and Marjorie Stoehr, a brother-in-law, Kelly Stoehr, three nieces and a nephew. What a happy reunion must be happening at this moment!

Funeral services will be held October 28th at the Littlefield LDS chapel at 3260 Highway 91 in Littlefield, Arizona. There will be a viewing that morning from 9-10:30 am with services beginning at 11:00 am Nevada time. Interment will be in the Littlefield Cemetery under the direction of Star Mortuary. Please sign the online memorial guestbook at www.starmortuary.com