PETERSON, James Alvin

Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Thursday, January 19, 2006 James Alvin Peterson, 85, died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, January 9, 2006, of lung cancer. He was born in Cottonwood, S.D., the third of 14 children. James was an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe at Pine Ridge, S.D. He was a cowboy in the Badlands, an early employee of IBM in New York City, and a WWII First Lieutenant pilot who flew sorties in the South Pacific. He was also among the first to fly to occupied Japan, a sales manager, a U.S. Customs agent, the oldest cadet to graduate from the Arizona Police Academy, and a security officer at Yavapai Community College. Since 1959 James thrived in the Arizona landscape with his life's companion, his wife of 64 years. She misses him dearly, as do their son and daughter with spouses, three grandsons, and a great-granddaughter. No services are planned. A memorial family gathering is planned for the spring. Information provided by survivors.