Obituary for Lt Col. Bruno Peters Ret. Lt.
Colonel Bruno Peters Retired September 12, 1917 – July 17, 2018 SANTA CRUZ, CA – Bruno (Pete) Peters died at home at the age of 100, on July 17, 2018. He was under hospice care at the time. He is survived by his son, Kenneth Peters and wife, Rowena of San Diego, CA, his daughter Mohini (Wendy) Peters of Santa Cruz, CA, and his sister, Zena Stroshine of Flatrock, MI.
He is also survived by his seven grandchildren and spouses: Alison and Jason Dunton, Josh Park and Melissa Brown, Chris and Alexandra Peters, Kerry and Travis Conley, Kathy and John Kucharski, Maria and Julian Real-Martinez: and seven great-grandchildren: Elise and Leif Dunton, Darrell and Jack Conley, Madelyn Kucharski, and Malakhi and Nehemiah Martinez. Bruno was preceded in death by his parents, Bernice Dabravalskiai and Alexander Petraitis, his wife, Patti Peters, his siblings, Olga Peters, Alex Peters, and Anthony Peters, and by his grandson, Jason Park. Bruno was born on September 12, 1917 in Minneapolis, MN, to Bernice Dabravalskiai and Alexander Petraitis.
Bruno was the oldest of five children. His father and mother emigrated from Lithuania, in 1906 and 1913, respectively. The family settled in the Detroit, Michigan area where Alexander worked for Ford Motor Company.
Bruno became an accomplished violin musician at an early age and often performed with his father at Lithuanian celebrations. Bruno left home at the age of 14, and graduated from High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. He joined the Army Air Corp during World War II.
He flew more than 100 missions in the P51 Mustang, out of England and France with the Pioneer Mustang Group. Most of his missions involved escorting bombers to and from their targets. He is credited for downing one of the first German jets, the ME262.
During the war, he took up the saxophone, which he played for most of his life. After the war he continued his career in the Air Force and retired as Lt. Colonel in 1968.
Bruno met and married Patti Helen Ruth Moore (April 29, 1926 – July 29, 2010) on August 22, 1944. Due to his career in the Air Force, the family moved all over the United States, and also lived in France for 3 years. After retiring from the Air Force, Bruno and Patti settled in Phoenix, AZ where he worked for the Gannett Newspaper.
During that time, Bruno and Patti enjoyed antiquing together, and acquired hundreds of collectables. Bruno led the Pete Peters Swing Band, playing for special events and for fun. He and Patti enjoyed traveling and went to many reunions of the 354th Fighter Pilot Group.
In 1997 they moved to Torrance, California. Shortly after the death of his wife Patti, in 2010, Bruno bought a home in Santa Cruz where he lived with his daughter, Wendy, until his death. A celebration of life for family will be held on Saturday, July 28.
As a member of “The Greatest Generation” and a hero to his family, he will be greatly missed, but always loved and remembered. The family is grateful to the staff of Hospice of Santa Cruz, for their outstanding care. If you would like to share a memory in his honor, please visit www.
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