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Wednesday, October 11, 2023
RIP Richard 'Pete' Peterson
EVG reader Annie Gosfield shares the sad news about the passing of Richard "Pete" Peterson, "a well-loved neighbor" who lived at 305 E. 12th St. since 1968. He was 83.
His nephew said that Pete died during a brief stay in the hospital due to heart problems.
He loved plants and shared his gardening skills with adjacent buildings between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
11 comments:
andres
said...
RIP indeed. He was a lovely person and neighbor. Enjoyed many a stoop chats with him and big ups to his flower game! He and his roses will be missed.
You can imagine the shock of seeing the sign outside of Mr. Peterson’s apartment. My significant other was killed in a motorcycle accident Oct 8th 2021 in NJ. Also Richard Peterson. My son told me about the sign. Richard also lived in the city for awhile but not in the village. I was curious to know who posted the sign. May they both RIP
Peter left us too soon! I knew he had been ill, but he looked well and had plans to travel, so I was surprised to hear that he was suddenly gone. If there is a heaven, I hope he is there with his beloved Hugh.
Pete and I became friends when I first moved onto E12th Street 29 years ago. I admired and complemented his plants when walking down the block one day. We are both gardeners. We always spoke whenever we saw each other. I'd often see him parking his cab. Pete was a wonderful, friendly and interesting person who I was always happy to see. Thank You Pete! You will be missed by many! JB
Thank you, Cate, for this terrific poem. Seemed sudden to me too and how impermanent are our lives. His beautiful flowers gone, leaving a sad absence. We will miss you and your wonderful garden, Peter.
11 comments:
RIP indeed. He was a lovely person and neighbor. Enjoyed many a stoop chats with him and big ups to his flower game! He and his roses will be missed.
A very friendly man, his roses were amazing.
He brought such beauty to the neighborhood. Definitely uplifted my spirit every time I walked past his building.
Thank you sir, and RIP. I hope you are now amidst fields of endless beautiful flowers.
Oh, RIP Pete, I have been enjoying your garden for many years.
Much love Dear!!!
Very sad! Enjoyed his beautiful plantings for years. The lilacs were such a pleasure in spring to walk by.
You can imagine the shock of seeing the sign outside of Mr. Peterson’s apartment. My significant other was killed in a motorcycle accident Oct 8th 2021 in NJ. Also Richard Peterson. My son told me about the sign. Richard also lived in the city for awhile but not in the village. I was curious to know who posted the sign. May they both RIP
Peter left us too soon! I knew he had been ill, but he looked well and had plans to travel, so I was surprised to hear that he was suddenly gone. If there is a heaven, I hope he is there with his beloved Hugh.
Pete and I became friends when I first moved onto E12th Street 29 years ago. I admired and complemented his plants when walking down the block one day. We are both gardeners. We always spoke whenever we saw each other. I'd often see him parking his cab. Pete was a wonderful, friendly and interesting person who I was always happy to see. Thank You Pete! You will be missed by many! JB
And Just Like That - Pete d.2023
And just like that all evidence
of his life was gone. His apartment
emptied, furniture thrown out, his stylish
clothes left on the sidewalk railing, taken by
passers by, and his ceramic pots disseminated
by a caring neighbor, (she gave me two).
His apartment cleared to repair the leak
on the roof within a week. His vast hat collection
gone, who knows where, and no memorial
or funeral here has been mentioned, his sister
returned to Nevada, possibly with his remains.
And just like that, he’s gone. No more stoop
conversations will be had about his time driving
a cab, including witnessing John Lennon
being shot, no more tending of his 15 x 4’
garden in front of the building adjoining his,
where I would always pause to sniff
the peppery purple roses and butter yellow
roses, and whisper to the whole garden,
‘ I love you’. The salvageable plants will
be taken to St. Marks Church yard, I'm told.
And just like that, only the person’s lives
he touched remains. I sat on the stoop
for awhile as I felt his energy near, and from
what I could perceive he’s adjusting as the newly
dead do to the facility of thought creating
arrival, direction or movement through
the dimensions, freshly unbothered by matter;
no further need of his beautiful yellow
Cadillac I used to see him washing on
spring afternoons; he has a whole other
ride now, he can be wherever he thinks of,
and his personal perspective has expanded,
he sees me more as I am than his biases would
allow then, and he was amused by it. And then
just like that, he departed for another dimension.
I sat for another minute, and then just
like that, I walked down the street, home.
c Cate McNider
10/19/2023
2nd draft (Author of 'Escape Velocity' 2023 on Amazon)
Thank you, Cate, for this terrific poem. Seemed sudden to me too and how impermanent are our lives. His beautiful flowers gone, leaving a sad absence. We will miss you and your wonderful garden, Peter.
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