In Memoriam

Walter R. Peterson '46, '69H A former governor, he was New Hampshire to the core By Karen Tongue Hammond '64

The achievements of Walter Peterson '46, '69H were many—influential politician, state governor, college president—but perhaps his most outstanding accomplishment was his ability to find common ground with people from all walks of life and to bring out the best in them. "If you asked him the secret of his success, he would tell you that he made sure that he surrounded himself with good people," says his son, Andy. "He wasn't threatened by talent—any brainpower or energy you had, he was anxious to put to good use."

Peterson, who died in June from lung cancer at the age of 88, was born and raised in Nashua, N.H. Arriving in Durham in 1942, he left UNH to report for naval training. During World War II, he was the captain of a tugboat in the South Pacific; after the war, he finished his undergraduate degree at Dartmouth. UNH awarded him an honorary degree in 1969. From 1995-1996, he served as interim president at UNH.

New Hampshire to the core, Peterson first served in the state Legislature and as speaker of the House before being elected the Republican governor of New Hampshire from 1969-1973. He was a mentor to Gov. John Lynch '74, who calls him "a principled and honest person who never stopped caring about New Hampshire and its people and the issues facing our great state."

In his professional life, he focused on education and politics—the 1971 photo above shows him with Senator Warren Rudman, left, and President Richard Nixon, right—but Peterson had a number of other interests, including jazz and, especially, hiking and basketball. Andy recalls taking many hikes with his father up North Pack Monadnock, especially when Walter had something on his mind. It was during one such hike, following a loss to Meldrim Thomson in the 1972 gubernatorial primary, that Peterson decided to accept the presidency of Franklin Pierce College. "I had visions of him running for U.S. Senate back then and didn't understand the attraction ... but I think he had already made up his mind that he wanted to stay in New Hampshire and do something to make a difference," says Andy. Peterson served as president of Franklin Pierce for 20 years, making sweeping changes in the college and endearing himself to everyone on campus, in part because "he knew the name of every student, faculty member, maintenance man and staff person," says his wife, Dorothy.

One of Peterson's proudest achievements, says Dorothy, was working with the boards of the University System of New Hampshire and the community colleges to ensure that community college credits could transfer to schools in the university system. This was a boon to nontraditional students and others who hold full-time jobs by day, enabling them to earn two years of transferable credit by attending evening classes.

Basketball was Peterson's lifelong passion, from high school and college through his military career and his years of playing for the semi-pro New England Hobos. Until his mid-60s, he played for an over-30 team in Peterborough.

State Senator Lou D'Allesandro '61, a longtime friend, recalls taking a memorable road trip with Peterson to Boston Garden for a celebration of New Hampshire Day, talking basketball all the way. "We were immediately taken to Red Auerbach's office," recalls D'Allesandro. "Walter was his usual amazing self and you'd never believe that he wasn't just one of the guys, giving great anecdotes about his playing days. No one but Walter could have pulled it off without skipping a beat."

After Peterson's death, D'Allesandro told the Boston Globe, "How many times in life can you say you met a really great person?" He was "a genuine human being who showed concern for everyone," says D'Allesandro, "a man who gave so much and asked nothing in return."

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