By Jaydene Morrison
Russ was special because of his remarkable ability to see the hidden beauty in people as well as nature.
As a teacher, he turned his international students in India into knowledge-thirsty young adults. An example: one student argued a case before the International Student UN (United Nations). That student is now an attorney in the United States in Tucson, Arizona. I had the honor of meeting him recently and hearing how Russ inspired him and changed his life.
Family and family tradition was of utmost importance to Russ. He started a Peterson tradition of the family coming to our house and making Italian Spaghetti on his birthday. It was created from a recipe his grandmother brought from the old country. Although his mother could no longer travel, she was a part of it via telephone.
Russ turned our barren concrete block structure in Panama into a beautiful home with an enclosed garden patio and orchard.
He turned the barren rock pile yard at our home in Nederland into a beautiful floral estate.
From pipe and cork he created the fantastic orchid tree shown in the enclosed picture. It was in the Denver Botanical Gardens.
His fame can be summed up by the statement by one of my neighbors. When I told her I was dating Russ, she said, “THE Russ Peterson?” Yes, he was definitely THE Russ Peterson.
THE Russ Peterson was a visionary who could see rubble and turn it into a completed product of beauty…both in people and in nature.
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