Armand H. “Pete” Peterson
May 4, 1941 ~ October 22, 2016
Armand Heidler (Pete) Peterson
Armand H. (Pete) Peterson, of Griderville, passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, October 22, 2016. He was born in Hiseville, Kentucky on May 4, 1941 to the late Armand Turner Peterson and the late Jean Marie Walters Peterson Simpson.
Pete grew up in Hiseville, Kentucky graduating from Hiseville High School in 1960. He joined the Navy in 1960 and graduated from the USN Training Center in Great Lakes, IL as a member of Company 206. He was stationed at Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, VA and served on board Suffolk County LST 1173.
After basic training, Pete married his high school sweetheart Jean Young and embarked on a 54 year marriage until Jean’s death on January 29, 2015.
After completing his service to our country and being honorably discharged as Fireman 1st Class (E6), he and Jean made their home in Griderville. Pete worked various jobs and started his own company, Tri-Cities Cooling & Heating. After many years of providing HVAC installation and service calls Tri-City closed. In the early 80’s, Pete was an early adopter of the ground source heat pump technology ultimately founding Geothermal Supply Company in Horse Cave, KY. GSC grew from a small three man operation to be an employer of as many as 25 men and women, had customers throughout the world and was once named Hart County Business of the year.
Pete was a member of Horse Cave Baptist Church, serving as a Trustee.
He is survived by his daughter, Lisa Peterson Chaney of Lebanon, TN, and son, Barry Peterson (Kevin Waldron) of Happy Valley, OR, two granddaughters, Ashley Herald Lile (Matt) of Center, KY and Lynnsey Coffey Dedmon of Lebanon, TN and four great-grandchildren, Kenzie Blair Lile, Macy Rhea Lile, Camilla Dawn Dedmon and Marshall Chaney Dedmon, brothers and sisters, Tommy Peterson (Juanita) of Glasgow, Janice Pulliam (Warren) of Bardstown, KY, Susan Eddings of Glasgow, Brad Peterson of Asheville, NC, David Peterson (Karisa) of Glasgow and many nieces, nephews, cousins and professional friends.
Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Tuesday at the Hatcher & Saddler Funeral Home. Entombment will follow at the Hiseville Cemetery. Military honors will be provided by Glasgow Chapter 20 DAV. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and continue Tuesday morning at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Honored American Veterans Afield—HAVA, P. O. Box 60727, Longmeadow, MA 01116. www.hava.org
Your family is in our prayers. Pete was a very special friend to our family. He will be greatly missed. He will always hold a special place in our hearts.
I always viewed Pete as a highly skilled businessman and a generous person. My heart goes out to his family. You are all in my prayers.
Pete and I, and sometimes David, would meet for lunch at Sahara everyday for almost eight years. Pete was so much help to me about business. No matter what I asked, I knew Pete would tell me the truth. I cannot tell everyone how much I will miss him and all the times he would tell me something and I would not know if he was serious or not until he would laugh. He was very good at that by the way. Just wanted to say the days ahead will be tough,but Jesus will be with you. My family will be praying for you all. To close I would just like to say; OUR LOSS IS HEAVEN’S GAIN. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
I have known Pete through business for over 35 years. I’ve worked with him, I’ve laughed with him, but mostly, I’ve learned from him. I met Pete when he was just getting started in the ground source heat pump industry, he was extremely confident of what he was going to do and of his eventual success at doing it. I was skeptical at first, but through the years realized that Pete’s positive attitude (some might call it hard headedness) was what allowed him to experience the success that he knew from day one that he would achieve.
He taught me the essence of business, the desire to make money and be successful (what he referred to in our conversations as greed) and the fear of failure, and how to keep them in proper perspective. He used to tell me that he was 90% greed and 10% fear and that he found that ratio to be the most successful.
He was certainly one of a kind and he will certainly be missed. On October 22, the ground source heat pump industry lost a true innovator and pioneer and champion for the cause, one that cannot be replaced.
My thoughts and prayers are with all of GSC as well as with Lisa, Barry and the entire family.
My condolences to all the family. Pete was a respected friend for many decades. He leaves a great legacy. May God give you strength and peace in the days to come.
Pete was always a gentleman and fun to connect with at the various IGSHPA and geo conferences where our paths crossed. We both served as Performance Pipe Reps at the same time, which provided additional opportunities to learn from him. His calmness while being straight forward and candid were admirable traits. To Lisa & Barry, please accept my heartfelt condolences.
Every once in a while you meet a real character like Pete who impacts many for good. I came to respect Pete greatly over the years. As I talked with Pete his priorities are evident; God, Country, Family, and Friends meant everything to him. He loved to do business but it was second hat to his priorities. Pete is trustworthy, straight, loyal, and a friend. My heart sank when I heard of his passing, which tells me of his impact on others. May God be with your family during this time of separation and loss.
We were friends in business for many years and shared many personal adventures as well. Pete was always persistent in his desire to provide a foundation of unique business ventures as well as the opportunity to learn from him. Yes, he was a real character through business and pleasure that drew great respect from all the people who knew him. He also had great vision in many respects in his endeavor to pursue his business interests as well as providing a foundation for others to pursue theirs. I could always trust Pete’s honesty and candor as well as his unique humor. The world has lost a true pioneer, in many respects, but through his persistence we’ve learned how to be more positive and forthright with new opportunities.
My condolences go out to Lisa and Barry and his family.
I will miss him as I look back on our times together.
Lisa,
Mom & I wish to offer our sincere condolences to you and the family. We had a tremendous respect for your father and the entire family.
Mom is a resident at NHC in Glasgow and would love to see you when you have time.
You will be in our prayers.
Sincerely,
Steve Smith
Lisa and Barry, You have my condolences. You will always have fond memories of Pete and Jean. I always enjoyed talk to Pete and friends at Geothermal Supply Company.
Pete- So long old friend. I will see you in a few years and we can have a fun talk.
We send our prayers for Pete’s family at this time of your loss . Sincerely your friends at Precision Comfort Systems Inc.
I will miss the personal and business conversations I have had with Pete over the years. He impressed as an man of high integrity, believing in doing business the “old fashion way”. His knowledge of the plastics industry certainly helped us as we developed products and methods to improve the ice rink industry and streamline our operations.
Our condolences to his family and all those who feel his loss. He will be missed by many.