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Former University of Utah President Chase Peterson was remembered Saturday as a cultivator of plants and people, who shared his love and wisdom with his family and a broad array of friends.
"If there's anything I'm going to take away from my father's life, it's that he always put people first," said Edward Peterson, Chase Peterson's son. "He always made people feel special."
A native of Logan, a physician, the former dean of admissions at Harvard University and later president of the U., Peterson died Sept. 14 from complications of pneumonia at the age of 84.
His memorial service was held Saturday morning at Monument Park North Stake Center in Salt Lake City. His body was to be cremated and a private burial held later.
His family noted his love of music and the hours of volunteer service he offered providing medical help to homeless Utahns at the Fourth Street Clinic.
Peterson became president of the U. in 1983 and is best remembered for significantly expanding the teaching and research work at the medical school.
During his tenure, he championed cold fusion as a new energy source, which turned out to be a bust and embarrassment for the school.
His tenure also saw protests against apartheid in South Africa, with the building of makeshift shanties on campus, a demonstration that Peterson allowed to run its course, despite some who said the hovels were an eyesore.
"He said, 'Sometimes ideas are untidy, but we let them stay,'" said Peterson's son, Stuart Peterson.
After stepping down as president, Peterson remained proud of the U. and deeply involved in the school, joining the Department of Family Medicine and serving on the admissions board.
Once, his son Stuart Peterson said, his father wrote a letter to the football coach, Kyle Whittingham, describing a play he had cooked up that he thought the team could use.
Whittingham wrote back, thanking him for the input and adding: "If you'd like any ideas about the medical school, I've got ideas of similar value."
Chris Hill, athletic director at the U., said the school planned to commemorate Peterson's contribution at the game Saturday night, with the marching band spelling out his initials during its halftime performance.
His son, Edward Peterson, said his dad loved to plant marigolds and when they were living in Cambridge, Mass., while the elder Peterson was dean of admissions at Harvard University, he planted the flowers in a strip in front of their house near a telephone pole.
One morning, while Chase Peterson was working in the garden, the police stopped and asked if he knew what he was growing there. He said marigolds, but the officers told him that wasn't all.
"Someone had planted some marijuana next to my dad's marigolds - or at least that was his story," the son recounted.
"His gift in life was to be a cultivator," said Stuart Peterson. "He cultivated friendships and knew how to be a friend."
Peterson's daughter, Erika Munson, told how Chase Peterson would assemble the family early in the mornings when they lived near Harvard to go on the morning run,
"This is my dad, awakening us to possibilities … and leading us down paths we otherwise might not have gone," Munson said.
She said her father always looked to learn something new, finding out how the mechanic fixed his car, asking a pharmacist about his health insurance, and counseling his medical students to learn something new from every one of their patients.
Jeffrey Holland, who was president of Brigham Young University while Peterson was president at the U. and is now a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, delivered a letter from church leaders and praised Peterson's heart.
Holland said when he was leaving for the service, his wife asked him, "Will you tell Grethe [Peterson, Chase's wife], that the reason I always loved Chase is because I always knew he loved me?"
"That was the essential Chase Peterson," Holland said. "I think Chase loved everybody."
Twitter: @RobertGehrke