Ward Davis Peterson Jr., 92, passed quietly in his room in the Rehabilitation Center at Henry Ford Village, Dearborn, MI on the morning of April 6, 2020. Born in Ann Arbor, MI on May 10, 1927 to Marcia Pinkerton and Ward Davis Peterson Sr., Ward graduated from Ann Arbor High School. He then joined the Navy near the end of World War II and attended Swarthmore College and the University of Michigan. In 1950, he married Margaret Delphine Rose, also of Ann Arbor, and together they raised 5 children, all surviving: Kathryn Wildfong (Louis, Ferndale, MI); Reuben Peterson (Teresa, Modesto, CA); Margaret Peterson (Fred Rowley, Seattle, WA); Gregory Peterson (Saline, MI); and John Peterson (Melissa, Portage, MI). Besides the 5 children he is also survived by 10 grandchildren (Becky, Katie, Annie, Corinne, Jackie, Thomas, Sarah, Ben, Joe, and Matt) and 12 great-grandchildren.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Ward worked for the Michigan Department of Public Health in Lansing, MI, then earned his doctorate in Virology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He was a pioneer virologist, involved with the Salk polio and other vaccine trials. The family moved to Pleasant Ridge, MI in 1960, where he began his 30-plus year career at the Cell Culture Laboratory of the Child Research Center, located in Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

Ward was a kind and generous person appreciated for his wry sense of humor and his patience. He was a devoted husband and father. He and Margaret were active in numerous civic and community organizations, started a neighborhood book club, and Ward even entered politics as a member and president of the Ferndale Board of Education. An avid wrestler, sailor, tennis and hockey player when growing up, he encouraged his children to participate in sports and coached his sons in hockey, cheered his daughters in swimming, and annually spent hours creating a backyard skating rink for his, and all the neighborhood kids to enjoy.

In 2000, Ward and Margaret moved into Henry Ford Village, where they made many new friends, and enjoyed their life together there until Margaret’s death in 2012. Ward remained active at the Henry Ford Village. He was a Resident Council member, a volunteer for the library, Treasure Chest resale shop, and Village TV station, and was a golf and Wii bowling team member. He and Margaret were strong supporters of arts and education as decades-long members of the Detroit Zoological Society, Detroit Symphony, Detroit Institute of Arts, Henry Ford Museum and Village, and Hilberry Theater. They also were supporters of the Henry Ford Village Benevolent Foundation and Scholarship Fund.

A memorial celebration will be planned in the future. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Henry Ford Village Foundation, 15101 Ford Road, Dearborn, MI 48126.