WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
CHARLES S. "CHAS" PETERSON
(historian, teacher, rancher)
BIOGRAPHY
Charles S. "Chas" Peterson was born in Snowflake, Arizona on January 30, 1927.Chas was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a mission to Sweden in 1947-1949.
Chas served in the US Army during World War II from 1945-1946 as part of the occupation troops in Tokyo, Japan.
Chas married Elizabeth Colette "Betty" Hayes of Wilmington, Delaware on August 17, 1953 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
Chas earned BA and MA degrees from Brigham Young University (1953, 1958; respectively) and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah (1967).
Chas was a professional historian with specialties in Mormon History and Resource Management Studies. He ranched and taught at four Utah universities and colleges. (Carbon College in Price UT, Professor Emeritus at Utah State University in Logan UT, ...) He was director of the Utah Historical Society and the Man and His Bread Museum. He was editor of the Utah Historical Quarterly, the Western Historical Quarterly, and a University of Utah Press series on Utah history. He was the recipient of grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Association for State and Local History, and the Huntington Library.
Betty passed away on September 18, 2000 after a long illness. Her funeral was held at the Metcalf Mortuary in St. George on September 23 and she was buried in the Pine Valley Cemetery.
After the death of his first wife, Chas married May Frances Kemp, widow of Merrill J. Kemp, on April 17. 2004. She passed away on December 2, 2015 and funeral services were held on December 7 in the Bloomington Hills Stake Center.
Chas passed away on May 10, 2017 at the age of 90. His funeral was held at the Metcalf Mortuary in St. George on May 13 and he was buried in the Pine Valley Cemetery.
PUBLICATIONS
Book: "Take Up Your Mission: Mormon Colonizing along the Little Colorado River, 1870-1900", 1973Book: "Look to the mountains, Southeastern Utah and the La Sal National Forest", 1975
Book: "Utah: A History", 1977, 1984
Book: "The Awkward State of Utah: Coming of Age in the Nation 1896-1945" (with coauthor Brian Q. Cannon), 2015
Juanita Brooks Lecture: "A Utah Moon: Perceptions of Southern Utah" (1984)
Juanita Brooks Lecture: "Hopeful Odyssey: Nels Anderson, Boy Hobo, Desert Saint, Wartime Diarist, Public Servant,
Expatriot Sociologist" (3/28/2012)
FAMILY
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Chas' Parents and Siblings:
Joseph Peterson Lydia Jane Savage Peterson Alma Mathers Peterson Charles S. Peterson Roald Emerson Peterson Leon L. Peterson Levi S. Peterson |
(4/10/1874-6/17/1943) (married xx/xx/xxxx) (12/21/1892-12/10/1985) (5/19/1925-8/31/1928) (1/30/1927-5/10/2017) (married Elizabeth Colette "Betty" Hayes and May Kemp) (7/14/1929-8/8/2003) (married Luana Ada Field) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) |
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Betty's Parents and Siblings: Alton John Hayes Melba Tew Hayes Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx |
(1/15/1905-4/19/1990) (married xx/xx/xxxx) (1/13/1904-5/17/1995) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) |
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Chas & Betty's Family: Charles S. Peterson Elizabeth Colette Hayes Peterson Colette Peterson Joseph Peterson John Peterson Matt Peterson David Peterson Samuel Peterson |
(1/30/1927-5/10/2017) (married 8/17/1953) (6/7/1932-9/18/2000) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Leon Spackman) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Becky Heaton) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Linda Israelsen) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Pam Burgon) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Melanie Crandall) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) |
PHOTOS
REFERENCES
Obituary of Charles "Chas" PetersonObituary of Charles "Chas" Peterson in the St. George News
In Memorium, Charles "Chas" Peterson, 1927-2017
by Brian Q. Cannon
Utah Historical Quarterly (Volume 85, Number 3, Summer 2017), pp. 285-286
Find-A-Grave entry for Elizabeth Colette "Betty" Hayes Peterson
Find-A-Grave entry for Joseph Peterson
Find-A-Grave entry for Lydia Jane Savage Peterson
Find-A-Grave entry for Alton John Hayes
Find-A-Grave entry for Melba Tew Hayes