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Jimmy Peterson
March 14, 1951 - March 27,
2009
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On Saturday morning,
August 7, 2010, very early, I shared
an unexpected and heartfelt moment in
time with Rich Peluso as we paid
homage to our close friend Jimmy
Peterson. Rich and I were both
in town for the 40th RFA class
reunion.
I first picked Rich up at the Quality
Inn and before getting in my car, he
grabbed a portable CD player out of
his vehicle along with 8 batteries
necessary to use it without an outlet. He had a CD
with him and when we got to the
cemetery, we walked around looking for
Jimmy’s stone which we found in just a
few short minutes.
Without hesitation, Rich placed
the CD in the deck and we stood,
stared, and listened.
In seconds, I had a lump in my
throat. Not
a word was uttered as we listened.
What a beautiful song, and so
appropriate. When
the song was finished, we both had
trouble talking as I know we were both
on the verge of just breaking down,
but fighting it as we guys often do. Thank you
Rich…. I’ll never forget that morning
with you.
Hopefully you are able to hear the
song as you visit this page…. “My Old
Friend” by Tim McGraw.
Jimmy Peterson was my best friend from
Rome, NY. When I moved
in 1966, I kept in touch with many by
phone and postal mail, but as lives
moved on, I lost touch with many with
the exception of Jim.
I visited Rome
now and then throughout the years and
always went straight to Jim’s store or
house each time. When Jim began a
family with Patty Ott, it was
beautiful and forever.
Jim was a great partner and
father and one of his greatest
qualities was the way he encouraged
and complimented people.
He was always upbeat and never
spoke negatively about people. I love and
miss Jim very much and regret that he
never saw the RCR site as he passed
away March 27 2009. He would have
loved reading about all of you. -
Dennis Parrish
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I have been thinking
for quite some time about putting
some words down on Jim's
memorial page. It has taken
me a while because sometimes words
are not adequate. There are
some rare times in our lives
when we know someone so special
that we instantly feel blessed to
have known them. That is the
way I feel about Jim
Peterson. I met Jim when I
was only 13 years old (Thanks
to Dennis for introducing
us). I was so
incredibly shy and he was the
first boy that I ever had a crush
on. I would see him walk in
the halls of Staley and sometimes
he would smile at me and I would
get all embarrassed. He was
also very shy so it was a bit
awkward between us. As time
went by, we began talking and then
falling in love. I know that
it is hard to imagine real love at
13, however, we did truly love one
another. He was my
first boyfriend, the first
boy that I ever kissed and we
were together for 2 years, which
is a lifetime when you are 13-15
years old. We shared a
lot of things together. I
loved the way he cared about me
and always put me first. He
had a loving and giving
spirit. Our relationship
ended when I was 15, due to my own
immaturity. As they say, you
never know what you have until it
is gone. I thought about Jim
many times over the years and
always felt regret that I wasn't
kinder to him in the end. He
always forgave me for my
foolishness. That is the
person that he was. Many
years later, after I had been
married and had my children, I ran
into Jim. I was in the
process of separating from my
husband. I gave him my phone
number and he called and we talked
on the phone for most of the
night. We had an amazing
talk and he told me things that I
never knew and it broke my
heart. He told me that when
I got married to Jim Glover, he
went to the church and was parked
outside and was going to run in
and steal me from the church so
that I wouldn't marry
Jim! It made me laugh
but I also know that he meant
it. He said in the end he
couldn't do it. I wonder
what would have happened. He
probably would have saved me from
the mistake that my marriage ended
up being. We never spoke
again after that conversation and
I don't really remember why.
I was so happy to hear later in
life that he was happily married
to a wonderful woman and had a
beautiful family. He
deserved to have that life.
We all have a path that we travel
in our lives and I am so grateful
that Jim was a big part of my
journey. He will always have
a very special place in my
heart. He is missed and
loved by everyone that knew
him.
Elizabeth (Rocco) Premo
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March 29, 2012 - It has been 3
years this week Jim since you said
goodbye to us. I remember our last
conversation. Not much was said,
in fact, we were both quite choked up
for a few minutes. I never knew anyone
to feel and share one's pain like you
did. I love and miss you so much,
the laughs, the visits.... I'm
looking forward to seeing you again my
friend!
Dennis Parrish
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June 30, 2012 - Visiting my dear
friend today
Miss you Jim
Dennis
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May
18 2014 - I am SO HAPPY!!!!! My
parents bought me my first electric
guitar in 1964. Two years later I sold
it so I could purchase a different
guitar. Right after that my mom died
and 10 years later my dad was killed
in a car accident. I went back to my
hometown of Rome, NY in 2008 where I
was reunited with the person who
originally bought the guitar, Jim
Peterson, through and old friend by
the name of John Genovese. This
picture is the night I saw the guitar
that I hadn’t seen since I was 16. It
was some night and I couldn’t believe
I was holding it! Three years later I
found out the Jim had passed away. I
was very saddened to hear the news, as
he was really nice and gracious to let
me come over that late night. We had
such a wonderful time reminiscing
about the old days, our dads, and the
guitar history we shared. Fast
forward to this past week…. I get a
call from John Genovese. He’s says,
“Dave; I bought your Silvertone. This
guitar should belong to you since it
was your first and from your parents.
I hope I’m not out of line, no
pressure, but if you want it I’ll send
it to you.” I said YES!
I’ll Take it!!!!! It’s going to
arrive here on May 22nd. Can’t
believe that I’ll finally have
something that was from my parents
since I don’t have anything from
them!!!!
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