Obituaries

John ‘Jack’ Peters

John “Jack” Peters of Laurel died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Sunday, April 3, 2022. He was 88.

Jack was born on Aug. 7, 1933, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Dorothea (née Hunter) and Lawrence H. Peters. He had an older sister, Joan, and a younger brother, Bobby. After high school, he joined the United States Air Force and served during the Korean Conflict from 1952 to 1956. After his service, he returned to New York earning his bachelor’s degree from St. Francis College in Brooklyn.

On June 25, 1960, in Uniondale, N.Y., he married the love of his life, Eileen Hale. They first met in Breezy Point only a few months prior; it was love at first sight. Together they had seven children and lived a loud, busy, happy life in Massapequa, N.Y. Eventually they would retire to their home in Laurel, the gathering point for their children, the “outlaws”, and many grandchildren for the last 25 years. Laurel remains crowded with love.

Jack was a spiritual man with a deep religious faith. He and Eileen were members of Teams of Our Lady for over 50 years, and of Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church since retiring to their beloved North Fork.

Jack made friends wherever he went; in church, of course, his neighbors obviously, at work: as a truck diver, a lifeguard, a bouncer and bodyguard in Miami (before meeting Eileen), and as a father; he was a salesman for Ashland Oil, based out of New Jersey, earning the admiration and respect of all he worked with. Jack loved the outdoors, in his early years running and playing in the streets of Brooklyn, summers spent at Camp Waconda and later Breezy Point. He and Eileen took their family camping; his children like to joke that they’ve been to every KOA campground and Civil War Battlefield on the East Coast. Perhaps Jack’s favorite outdoor space, though, was the beach. He loved packing the kids up and heading down to the bay; spending hours with family and friends in and on the water. On the water, pulling legions of squealing children on skis or tubes behind his boat; or flying across Peconic Bay, preferably after a storm on his catamaran, appropriately named FUNFORALL. Jack was all about having fun, was the first and last on the dance floor, always had a joke to share, a huge smile on his face, loved to sing loudly, albeit not very well. He was larger than life.

Throughout his life, Jack Peters had a significant impact on others. There was always an extra seat at the dinner table for anyone who wished to join, a bed for someone who needed a place to sleep, a shoulder to cry on. Jack was known for sharing advice, warranted and unwarranted, to those who asked or needed to hear it. He always had someone in his right hand, much like God always had Jack in His. He was first and foremost a loving husband to his precious “Myleen,” a compassionate father, a terrific Pop pop, and a loyal friend. Everyone knew that they could count on Jack Peters. While we will all miss him immensely, we all count ourselves blessed to have shared in the love and light that Jack brought to all. We will remember him with happy tears and a smile.

Predeceased by his parents, his siblings, Robert Peters and Joan Peters Egan, and his daughter Eileen Margaret, he is survived by his wife, Eileen; children Mary Jo Orr (George), Lawrence Peters (Helen), Nancy Fitzpatrick (Gerard), Claire Pawlak (Robert), Sean Peters (Natalie), Kathleen Peters and Carol Giangrande, and grandchildren George and Grace Orr, Caroline, Patrick, Owen, Margaret, Quinn, Gavin and Scarlet Peters, John, Charlie, Christina and Claire Compitello, Laura, Elizabeth and Abigail Pawlak, Helena, Shannon and Anja Peters, Erin and Alyson Fitzpatrick, Samantha Brodowski, Dana Hergenroeather.

The family welcomed friends April 6 at the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. The Liturgy of Christian Burial was celebrated April 7 at Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church in Mattituck, officiated by Father Peter Garry. The Rite of Committal was private.

This is a paid notice.