Passionate outdoorsman, sports enthusiast, loving father

Paul Martin Peterson, 63, a Bend, Oregon resident who grew up in Claremont, died on March 24.

Paul is survived by his wife of 38 years, Teri; their son, Christopher; his mother, Rosemary; sister, Sally; brothers, Mark and Jim; and numerous aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, in-laws and extended family.

He was preceded in death by his brother Eric and father, Herbert.

He graduated from Claremont High School in 1974. He was very active in Boy Scouts and became an Eagle Scout. He was also involved in a variety of sports, most notably football, rock/mountain climbing and skiing.

He attended Citrus College and then California State University, Long Beach, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in finance. During high school and college he worked several jobs, including as a climber at Disneyland’s Matterhorn ride, and at a local backpacking shop, Pack and Piton.

After college he was hired by Bank of America, where he worked in commercial lending for 37 years at several Southern California locations. He was a senior vice president at the time of his retirement.

In 1981 Mr. Peterson married longtime friend and love Teri Bovett (CHS ‘74). They lived and raised a family in Yorba Linda. The family was very active with travel, camping, backpacking, biking, youth sports, skiing, fishing, golfing, climbing and church activities.

In 2016 the couple retired and moved to Bend, Oregon, a haven for winter and summer sports. He was in heaven as days filled with skiing, biking, fishing and golfing would often lead to relaxing in a local brew pub.

A virtual celebration honoring Mr. Peterson will take place on July 27, 2020. In lieu of flowers, please donate to one of his favorite organizations, the Oregon Natural Desert Association, at https://onda.org/donate/; or to Trout Unlimited at https://gifts.tu.org/donate2.