PETERS BROTHER’S FAMILY MEMORIES BY AL PETERS      
                VICTOR HOWARD PETERS-SEPTEMBER 20, 1920

An early memory I have of Vic is when we lived on Northern Blvd in Independence Missouri and I think I was 5 or 6 years old. We had an Outhouse (an outdoor two hole toilet) in our back yard and a wooden walkway out to the toilet.  There were rats living under that walkway and I would not go to the toilet by myself, especially after dark so Vic had to carry me out.

I really cannot remember a whole lot about Vic in my younger days since he was an older teenager, working, and running around with his friends, but I do know he was saved and Baptized at Maywood Baptist Church in the old building at 15th and Northern in Independence, Missouri. I also remember when he went to the service in WW2.  for Gene to drive and take our family places and I believe all of the other five of us brothers learned how to drive using that car.  It was not in very good condition when it got down to me.  By this time, Gene and Bill had their own cars and Bob did most of the driving of that Chevy until he traded it in to get his own car.

I remember when Vic came home on one of his furloughs when we lived on North Colorado in Kansas City Missouri and he brought a very attractive young lady with him by the name of Alice Geraldine (Sheets) Peters.  She lived in Osgood Indiana but worked in the Procurement Division at Wright Air Force Field in Dayton Ohio where Vic was stationed. They had met at the USO.  They were married in Osgood Indiana at her Parent’s home while he was still in the service.  She is one of our beloved sister-in-laws, the first in our family.  After the war and Vic was discharged, they moved back to Independence Missouri and both worked at Butler Mfg Company in Kansas City Missouri.  Vic worked there almost 44 years and Alice was there 35 years before their retirement from Butler. During that time they made a lot of quick weekend trips to Osgood Indiana driving all night on Fridays to visit her family, and the trips were made early on in a 1937 Ford exactly like the one in the picture on the next page, same color too.  They took later trips in a 1946 Chevrolet .
I made several trips with them to help drive, and got to chum around with Alice’s two brothers, Gale and Glenn Jr Sheets.  On one of those trips, we took our Mom and Dad with us. While there, I went to a Watermelon patch at night with the two brothers in their Model-T-Ford, possibly a 1923 Model.

We stole several Gunny Sacks full of small Watermelons and were not caught, but got stuck in the mud and had to unload the melons, push the car out, then load them back in and off we went.  We ate melons the next day with all the families and later loaded the car to head back home. Vic loaded a few melons in the trunk of the car but somehow Mom found out we had stolen them and would not get in the car.  Vic talked her into getting in, otherwise she was staying there because he was taking Watermelons home with us.
When I was trying to buy my first car, a beautiful Black 1937 Ford with practically no miles on it and always garaged, I did not have any credit yet so Vic loaned me the balance of the money needed to buy it.  He said he would not charge me any Interest as long as I made my payments on time (which I did, and Vic ran across the fully paid receipt book not very long ago). Interestingly I bought the car from a good friend of Bill’s who he worked with at Sears and his name was Howard Victor.  Quite a while after I bought it I had a wreck and ruined the “A” frame and some steering parts under the front of the car and Vic offered to help me repair it.  We pulled it up in his back yard on Brookside in Independence and replaced the whole “A” frame and the steering parts needed.  It took a while but it was as good as new.
I remember one summer when Vic helped Bill and Bob with a big problem.  They drove their 1937 Packard on a trip out West and knowing how good it ran, and fast, I have to assume they drove pretty fast.  In Burlington, Colorado they burned out  some connecting rod bearings in the Engine and were stuck in Colorado.  They decided to leave the car there and hitchhiked home.  Vic told them they could repair and he would help them, so they bought parts.  They drove back to Colorado in Vic’s ’37 Ford and the Packard was not where they left it. They found that a Sheriff had it pulled to town so it wouldn’t be torn up.  They were able to get it back and pulled it out under a tree to work on, since the weather was so hot.  They took the pan off, replaced the burned out parts, cleaned the engine with Kerosene they bought at the garage, and away Bob and Bill went.  Vic told them to take it easy at first while he took the cans they had borrowed back to the garage.  Vic drove fast for a couple of hours until he finally caught up with them, sitting beside the road on the Packard’s running board and Fender.  Yep, you guessed it, they burned out more bearings.  Vic decided to pull the car home so they chained it bumper to bumper to that little 1937 Ford and he pulled them back home to Kansas City from Colorado.

Vic and Alice started our first big Peters Family Thanksgiving Dinner at their house in 1959 and then it was held at all of our other brother’s houses along with Vic’s.  As the years went by our families grew larger and we changed to having the dinners at places like a Lodge in Lees Summit, a Community Center in Belton, at Glenn’s and
Margaret’s home and Church in Jefferson City Missouri, Curt and Vicki’s Church in Belton, our house on Westport Road in Independence where we had an acre of ground, and now several years at our Church in Independence Missouri.  We were very blessed as a family to have Thanksgiving dinner together for 50 continuous years and enjoyed our 50th anniversary dinner at our Church, Maywood Baptist in Independence Missouri in 2009.  Approximately 100 family members attended and included ones from all over of the USA including our Niece and Nephew Scott and Debbie Smith from Hong Kong, Missionaries in China for many years. Some had  not been back for Thanksgiving for several years and that made it even more special.  It was the first time in 41 years that all 17 of our nieces and nephews were together at the same time and below is a picture of all of them.
 There are many other fond memories of our years together, too many to remember and write about but our family always had a closeness that many others haven't had, especially with six boys, and Vic's help through the years is irreplaceable.

Vic and Alice are Charter Members of the Norfleet Baptist Church where Bill moved to in 1962 from Park Hill Baptist to be the church’s first pastor and was also a charter member.  Vic was one of the first Deacons there, now recently Deacon Emeritus and has lead and worked in their Sunday School and in many other areas of the church.  He just recently slowed down as Chairman of the Property
Committee and the Finance Committee.  Alice has been active in many areas of the church from its beginning too, and one of her favorite places to work was with the children until just recently when health problems slowed her down.  She still helps with the Church Bulletin. Norfleet Baptist is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year on June 24, 2012.  June 24th is the date when they held the first service there.
Vic has also been a volunteer at many places other than his church, like driving a bus for the Red Cross, volunteering at the Independence Regional Hospital in the Recovery Room, a Greeter at The Truman Library, The Independence Missouri Police Department “Citizen on Patrol Program” Volunteer, and the Visitor Center and Ticket Office where he shows a short movie for visitors to The Truman Home where he still volunteers in the Spring and Summer one morning a week.

Al Peters
February 21, 2012    

     PETERS BROTHER’S FAMILY MEMORIES BY AL PETERS
     JOHN EUGENE (GENE) PETERS-JUNE 25, 1923-SEPTEMBER 21, 2001

My early memories of Gene are not very good since he was some older than me.  I remember being told that Gene carried Glenn and Vic carried me as babies when Mom would walk us all to Sunday school and Church at Maywood Baptist when we lived on Willow Street, just a few blocks from the Church. He also carried us when a little older and took us to the Movie theatre on Saturdays. I believe it cost a nickel for the older boys to get in and we little guys got in free. Pop corn and candy were also a nickel each and if we bought Cracker Jacks there was a small toy inside. When we were all fairly young Gene helped watch after us younger ones as did Vic, and helped Mom and Dad since they had their hands full with six boys.
Gene ran around with some of his Church and High School Buddies like R.B. Powell Jr and Charlie Beebe.  While at Northeast High School some of them got caught by our Vice Principle Mr. Davis on the Roof of the school while watching the Northeast football game.  They all got kicked out of school and had to have their parents get them back in.  Needless to say, our Mom was not very happy about that incident, but Dad usually did not say much about it. One time the same guys decided to ditch Church one Sunday and R.B. Powell knew how drive his Dad’s 1936 Chevrolet (same model as Vic had).  Just past Truman Road going North on Ash there is a pretty sharp curve and R.B. rolled his Dad’s car on its side.  Of course, the whole church knew about it pretty quick and again all the parents made sure their boys were in church every Sunday after that happened. Fortunately, none of them were hurt.
When they were still fairly young Gene and Bill worked in various farm fields doing jobs in the fields and one summer they worked over North of Independence on 291 Highway digging potatoes.  They were sunburned at first and hurt pretty bad but kept going and had good dark suntans after working all summer. They made good money, and most of the time had to hitch hike a ride to get there. They used the money they earned to help buy their first cars.
Gene and Bill and later Bob, did a lot of roller skating in skating rinks, first in the rink on Truman Road in Maywood and then at bigger rinks like the Eltorian on 31st and Gillham Road and The Plamor on Main Street and Linwood in Kansas City. Their roller skating experience helped Gene and Bill get jobs at Sears Roebuck in Kansas City, if you did not roller skate, you did not get the job that was available of filling orders on one of the upper floors. All of the others filling orders on that floor used roller skates too.
Gene was drafted into the Army in 1942 during WW2. He first went to Denver for Basic Training.  He began as a clerk/typist, but later received Operating Room training and was put to work as a Medic at the Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver, Colorado.  He was then sent to Fort Douglas, Utah and trained to set up Field Hospitals, then on to Charleston, South Carolina. He was stationed on a Hospital Ship called The Ernestine Koranda and below is an actual picture of that ship.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                           
The ship is mentioned in a newspaper article in our Mom’s scrapbook and noted in Gene’s handwriting “THIS IS US“.  This trip mentioned had 701 wounded and sick mostly Army Patients on board and it went from Cherbourg, France directly to port in Charleston, South Carolina in 14 days. The patients on this voyage were ones wounded in the closing days of fighting before the Germans surrendered. When these patients were debarked, they were all transported by buses and ambulances to the Stark General Hospital within two and one half hours. His ship made many trips to England, Italy, France, Scotland, The Panama Canal and other foreign ports,  picking up the wounded to take them back to Charleston and other ports in the U.S.
On one of the trips, his ship stopped at a port in England. Gene knew where Bill was stationed in England in the 8th Air Force and called Bill to let him know they were in Port and where they were.  Bill got a short pass, borrowed a bicycle, and rode for quite a long distance to the Port. Army personnel on board were not allowed to leave the ship but Gene snuck off the ship and met Bill so they could visit.  They may have spent the night in a motel before Bill left the next day for his long ride back to his base on the bicycle, and Gene got back on board ship without being discovered Sometime during his time while stationed in Charleston, South Carolina Gene met a pretty young southern girl named Gloria Ann Patterson who was born in Miami, Florida and grew up in Washington, Georgia.  After Gloria graduated                                                                                                                                                                                                         
from High School in 1943, her family moved to Charleston, South Carolina to find work and
she got a Job in the Navy Shipyard. She and Gene met at the USO there and enjoyed Ping Pong and dancing together. They dated for a while before he shipped out on the Hospital Ship previously mentioned. 
Gene was discharged from the army on February 6, 1946, joined the Reserves and headed home to Kansas City. He was then in contact with Gloria and after just a few weeks he and Gloria decided she ought to come to Kansas City for a visit.  After flying here she said if things did not work out with Gene she had enough money to fly back home. It worked out good though, Gene gave Gloria her engagement ring on a Saturday, and  they were married the following Tuesday, April 23, 1946 by our Maywood Baptist Pastor, W. H. Allison at the pastor’s home in Independence Missouri at 1701 Northern. They both found jobs in Kansas City. At that time Gene had a 1936 Dodge similar to this one below.
Gene was called back to active duty since he was in the Reserves in the Army on October 24, 1950, during the Korean War. This was after both daughters, Janet Dale and Julia Kay were born. He was first stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington, then at Fort Benning, Georgia.  He went from there to Bad Kreuznach, Germany during the occupation there.  He was able to have Gloria, Janet, and Julia travel to Germany to live with him in a nice apartment, and they even had a maid. After Christmas 1953, they returned to the States and eventually lived in Independence, Missouri for a short time before buying their house in South Kansas City.
Gene bought a Gas Station on 18th Street just west of the bridge at Ash Avenue in Independence.  He sold gas and did grease jobs and some minor repair work. I helped him pump gas after school and also learned how to do grease jobs.  His grease pit was an open one outside next to the Gas Station. He eventually changed professions and sold Insurance for American National Company for a while. During this time he had several cars and among them was a 1950 Ford like the one below.
Later he owned a Wood Working Shop out on Paseo Street in Kansas City where he built kitchen cabinets and installed them in homes for contractors.  He learned about woodworking from his father-in-law, Mr. Patterson who had been a long time builder. It got to where when Gene cut up a sheet of plywood for shelves, cabinet sides etc, when he finished with that sheet, there were practically no scraps left over.  He was good at it. Bob worked with Gene at the cabinet shop for a while and at one time, they built two houses in Lees Summit, Missouri together.  Gene bought and sold a few used cars from his home while getting established before the insurance business.
Before Gene sold the cabinet shop he did a remodeling job for the Mayor of Lees Summit, who was also a Doctor, and got good recommendations from him and that led him into starting his own house building company. His partners were mainly his family members including two daughters, son-in-laws, brother-in-laws, and a grandson followed along after them. Gloria did most of the office book keeping and paper work and paying bills for the company and she was also very good at helping design certain features in the homes. She was physically an excellent installer of tile work for some of the kitchens and bathrooms too. Her work looked like it was done by professionals.  Gene was real good at driving one or more of his Big Bull Dozers like the one on the next page, when needed or when he wanted to, and his Bobcat.                                                                                                                          
After dark one evening and in wet footing, Gene fell backward head first into a cement front porch opening that had not been covered yet.  It was about 8 feet deep and the fall broke his neck. He was in the hospital for quite a long time and for more than 51 days had hooks connected to his head, with wires hanging over the head of the bed that heavy weights on them. He survived after some healing took place, and sooner than anyone expected he was back at work again.  They at first told him he could not do heavy work again and it took a while he was back out on that Buldozer and Bobcat again.
                                                                                                                            
 After building many more homes including four or five of his own he changed his sights even higher and “John Peters Builders” became “John Peters Developers”. He purchased more land there in Lees Summit and developed and built new roads, curbs, sewer and natural gas and water service piping, and Electrical Service to those areas, then sold the lots to builders, sometimes 10 or more at a time. Several hundred homes were built in Lees Summit as a result of him seeing the opportunity for improving his company and the Community.  He even built a couple of bridges and re-aligned a creek bed so the un-used land could be developed for housing. He also found that in addition to the bridges, by building swimming pools in the sub-division areas helped the lots sell much faster. Quite a few of the new streets they developed and built are named after their family members.
Gene retired after over 40 plus years when his health slowed him down after handling a very successful business.  He was a good civic leader in Lees Summit and Politics, he was a Member of the Lees Summit Airport Commission, a City Councilman, a City Inspector, on the City Planning Commission, and 28 years on the Arbitration Board, all in Lees Summit, Missouri..  
Gene was always available for advice when I would ask.  He was a Christian and saved and Baptized at Maywood Baptist Church when he was about 11 years old.                                                                                           
Al Peters
February 21, 2012  
(Note: The cars and Dozer/Bobcat shown are not his actual ones but the ship is the real one. (Also some of my memories may not always be exactly the same of others)

I’m including below an e-mail I received from Janet Peters Dill in January with her latest memories also and making it a part of my writings, and I think you will find interesting.

Uncle Alvin,
I am so glad you are doing that. Yes I would like a copy. Here go my memories.

Gloria Ann Patterson grew up in Washington, Georgia. After she graduated from Washington High School her family moved to Charleston, South Carolina to find work. She worked in the Navy Yard in Charleston. She and her girlfriends went to the USO to play ping pong and dance with the GI's. Johnny or Gene was on a medic ship that docked in Charleston. Johnny and Gloria dated for a while before he was shipped out.
At some point he was in England at the same time Bill was there. The crew was not supposed to leave the ship. The two brothers wanted to see each other. There was a war going on and they were not sure if or when they would ever see each other again. Johnny snuck off the ship to go see Bill. They were able to visit for a few hours then Johnny got back on the medic ship without being discovered.
Johnny was discharged Feb 6, 1946. Johnny and Gloria were married April 23, 1946.  Janet was born Feb 12, 1947, then Julia Oct 28, 1950.

Johnny was called back to duty during the Korean War. They were stationed at Fort Benning, GA about 1951. He was then sent to Bad Kreuznach, Germany during the occupation. Gloria, Janet and Julia spent a few months living with Gloria's parents in Washington, GA in the fall of 1952. The mother and daughters traveled by train and then a ship, the USS Patch for 10 days to Germany. In Bad Kreuznach they lived in a nice apartment and even had a German maid. The girls enjoyed the play ground behind the apartment and Janet attended a German school for Americans for Kindergarten and part of 1st grade there on the army base. The family came back to the states after Christmas in 1953. The return trip was eventful with Janet being hospitalized for 10 days with encephalitis in a German Hospital in Bremerhaven, Germany.

Johnny came to Kansas City, Gloria and girls went to Georgia for a few months. The family reunited in Independence to live with John and Georgia Peters for a few months. They bought a partially finished new home in south Kansas City where they finished and lived for the next 8 years. Lee’s Summit was home town from 1962 on.
Janet Peters Dill

                    PETER’S BROTHER’S FAMILY MEMORIES BY AL PETERS
        WILLIAM KENNETH (BILL) PETERS OCTOBER 14, 1925-SEPTEMBER 9, 1996

I remember Bill while growing up more than Gene and Vic since we were closer in age and did more things together, so his memory pages may be a little longer.  I remember him as a peacemaker.  He was also a mentor and helper to Bob, Glenn, and me, correcting our actions as needed, especially in our younger teen days, even though he may not have realized it. Bill was saved and gave his heart to the Lord when he was 12 years old and Baptized at Maywood Baptist soon after.
As a family, we took several trips to Deepwater and Brownington, Missouri where our Mom grew up and many of them were with all Six of us Boys but I remember more of them when Bill took us. On one trip, I remember going to some strip pits (no, not like ones you are thinking of), these were old pits left there when coal was removed and then when finished getting all the coal out they usually filled with water, real cold water. They were filled with fish later and a good place to fish but also a good place to swim. They were like bottomless pits and I remember Gene, Bill, Bob and some cousins trying to go to the bottom but never made it.  They even stacked and pushed one on top of each other and tried to hit bottom that way but never made it. Mom would not let Glenn or me get close to the water since we were too young and did not know how to swim so we never got to swim in the Strip Pits, we just had to watch.
When we went on those trips, there was not much to do in those small towns so we boys usually made a trip or two to Clinton Missouri.  This was in the 1936 Chevrolet that Vic left for us. On one trip, Bill stopped, got out of the car and told me to move over, you get to drive for the first time.  I knew how (ha) and shifted to low gear, took off, shifted to second gear and away we went. I guess I was trying to go faster but could not and Bill finally told me it was time to shift into high gear. I learned humility in my first lesson how to drive, but at least I got to drive.
At one time during and after High School Bill had a 1932 Plymouth Roadster Convertible with a Rumble Seat exactly like the (white) one below except his was Black with orange Wheels and an Orange Stripe down the side.  He had the Orange painting done on the wheels and stripe down the side, painted exactly like the picture of the Model “A” Ford below the Plymouth.  A close friend of Bills who he met in class at Northeast High School also named Bill Peters had a 1931 Model “A” Ford exactly like the one shown below only with Wide White Wall Tires and they had the cars painted alike.  They were pretty well known at Northeast High because of their neat cars and they always had other students and even some teachers waiting around to get a ride with them.
We had a lot of fun riding in the Rumble Seats of those cars and occasionally Bill would let one of us drive his. When he went to the service, he rented a garage to store it in across the street from where we lived at 715 N. Cypress there in Kansas City. Pictures are on the next page showing the 1932 Plymouth and 1931 Modal A” Ford that are similar to the ones mentioned  above.   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                             
One Sunday when we were on the way Home from Church, Bill drove past Montgomery Wards and by way of Cliff Drive.  When we were close to home, with a lot of prodding, Bill talked our Mom into trying to drive.  She had never driven before but decided to try it. When we got to Hardesty Bill had her turn left and she did, but not sharp enough and ran over a curb and over a Fire Hydrant. WOW---water shot up in the air, ran down the street several blocks, and caused a telephone pole to tilt part way over.  Caused quite a sight but the Police never gave her a ticket, they seemed more amused about it all after the Fire Department and City got there and shut the water off.  To make a long story short, the City paid for all the damages except for Bill’s car repairs.  (May have been because Bob was a good friend of Sgt Bill White of the Kansas City Police Department). Below is a picture of a 1938 Chrysler similar to the one Bill was driving at the time.
Once our Church asked The Blackwood Brothers Quartet to perform at one of our services.  This was at our old location and a pretty small church building.  We found we did not have enough room for all of the approximately 800 people who attended.  There were chairs set up in the Sunday School Departments as well as the Fellowship Hall downstairs with speakers so they could hear the music. That morning after the service, some of us bought their quartet books. Mr. Gessley, our choir director, with Bill’s help started a men’s quartet, but several more than four guys wanted to sing so it changed to an Octet.  The eight involved were Bill Peters and Emmett Ashford singing 2nd Tenor, Al Peters and Bob Griffith 1st Tenor, Glenn Peters and Lee VanCleave Baritone, and Bob Driskell and Elmer Carr sang Bass. Dorothy (Rolf) Griffith and Mamie Street played the piano for us and Chris Scharig was our Preacher/speaker.  We sang a lot at Maywood and at the City Union Mission in Kansas City, Missouri once a month. We also sang at many small church
Revivals around the Western part of Missouri, and on the Radio in DeCalb County Missouri several times.  With the Lord’s leadership, we were fortunate and richly blessed to see many professions of faith during those few years we 8 guys were privileged to sing together as The Maywood Gospel Messengers.  We also made a record but cannot find anyone who still has a copy of it.                                                                                                                               
I remember how much our Mom and Dad worried since Vic, Gene, and Bill were all in the service. Gene was traveling across the Oceans on a Hospital Ship and in danger zones and Bill was flying in Bombing Missions over enemy countries.  
Vic did not have to go overseas. Bill was stationed in England and was a Belly Turret Gunner in the first of 29 Missions, fighting off German Fighter Planes while dropping their Bombs over Berlin and other areas in Germany as well as adjoining enemy countries. His Missions were on B-17 Flying Fortresses similar to the one shown here, you can see the Belly Turret Gun Cone.
Bill went to Radar School in England and was then a Spot Radar Jammer on some of the later Missions over the same territories.  After every Mission, their own planes were always damaged pretty badly and needed repairs in order to take off again. At times hey flew in different planes while repairs were done to theirs. Sometimes there would be anywhere from 50 to 100 of their Bombers in formation and bombing and almost always, according to articles we’ve read, many were shot down by Enemy Flak or German Fighter Planes. The most severe personal Airman wounded in all the flights Bill took was their radio operator when their plane caught Flak through the bottom of the plane and he lost most of his rear-end. There were no deaths or other serious injury on any of the Missions in which Bill was on.
The main treat Bill had while in England was when Gene called him from the Hospital ship he was on at an English Port and asked him to try to get off and get to the Port to see him.  Bill was able to do that, got a short leave, borrowed a Bicycle and rode a long distance to the port. They had a good visit and the next day he had the long trip to make back to his base on the Bicycle.
After returning home from the Service, Bill was very active at our Church, Maywood Baptist in the old building at 15th and Northern. He was our Young Peoples Department Director in a group that grew so much we had to move to what  was a makeshift balcony with often 50 or more young people in attendance. The balcony was flat and was used for the morning Church worship services too so we always had to let out on time.  It was then when he surrendered his life to the Lord for full time service.  On our way home from Church one Sunday night with Glenn and me, after BYPU (that’s Baptist Young Peoples Training Union) while driving over the Bridge next to the Sheffield Steel Company in Kansas City, Bill took his cigarettes out of his pocket, threw them over the bridge rail and exclaimed, “I cannot lead the youth and be a good witness and smoke too”, and he never smoked after that.                                                                         
                                                               
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                              
Bill attended William Jewell College and was ordained, and while there preached at a couple of churches in Northern Missouri.  He bought a small travel trailer and parked it at one of the churches so he would have a place to study and sleep while going there to preach every Sunday and Wed. He received his degree at Central Baptist Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas and during that time married his beautiful wife, Alice Esther Hall at the Garfield Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, our fourth enjoyable sister-in-law.  Glenn sang at their wedding and I was an Usher. He was called to Pastor a newly begun church called Park Hill Baptist who met in a farmhouse in Parkville Missouri. It grew enough while he was there for them to tear down the house after building a new building, and then a second building program later to enlarge it to meet their God provided growth.  He was later called to the Norfleet Baptist Church and it was a brand new building  with                           
no members yet.  The First Baptist Church of Raytown built it and then they called Bill to be their first Pastor. Norfleet grew too and before Bill was called to the Pacific Northwest, they had two additional building programs to accommodate their wonderful growth. Vic and Alice were Charter Members at Norfleet.
Bill had a very good leading from the Lord to be a Church builder and planter, and that’s why he was being lead to follow the Lord in going to the Pacific Northwest. Southern Baptists had begun a program called “Project 500” and the intent and desire was to start 500 new churches in that area.  Bill was called to be Pastor of The Emmanuel Baptist Church in Pullman Washington where he accepted and helped complete the new building itself at its present location. After serving there for some time and good church growth, he was asked to serve as Director of Missions for the Inland Empire Baptist Association covering Washington, Oregon, parts of North and South Dakota, and a small part of Canada.  Having a Cessna 170 Plane helped him make the visits to the other states and remote areas a lot quicker. Eventually he had to quit flying when a health problem changed his lifestyle a little.
After a few years, the Golden Gate Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in California decided to begin an extension to the Seminary in Portland Oregon and asked Bill to be Director of it. He had received his Doctor of Divinity Degree at the Golden Gate Seminary a few years earlier. He accepted and became Director of the Northwest Center of the Golden Gate Seminary in Portland Oregon.  He was also a Professor there. After strong growth and the Seminary attained accredibility, he felt it was time to retire after several years of his excellent leadership there.
His last retirement though came after he served as Interim Pastor at The International Baptist Church in Hong Kong. The Church had called him to be Interim Pastor for a few months and that time lasted 18 months and found the people there were very receptive and accommodating to them. Bill commented “that his Hong Kong experience was the most productive evangelistic work I have ever done”.  After leaving there he and Alice returned to Portland, Oregon and retired.
Bill was a great mentor and friend as well as a caring brother as I grew up, always living the life he was called by God to lead.  All four of Bill and Alice’s children, Debby, Becky, Steve, and Phil are in full time Christian work.
Bill passed away September 9, 1996 after a really tough nine months battle with Leukemia, and is buried at the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.


Al Peters
February 21, 2012