Almost every summer (after moving to AZ) was spent visiting relatives in Alexandria—a small town in central Minnesota. He spent these summers: fishing, swimming, turtle/frog catching, tubing, boating, and ferociously trading baseball cards. Also, some of the most epic ‘3-man-tennis ball-baseball’ games were played with his brothers and cousins in his Aunt’s & Uncle’s backyard. It was from these experiences that his passion for Minnesota grew. A pride so deep that he had the emblem of the Minnesota Vikings tattooed on his back shoulder his senior year in high school (an act his mother never made peace with).
I struggled with what to write in regards to the loves of Pete’s life. He, or others, might argue that I’ve omitted some names, but in my mind, there were only three women that Pete loved madly. To my knowledge, his relationship with Raquel began in high school and grew to be an intense, hot & cold, on again-off again, passionate, and complicated love affair that probably spanned 15 years. During his second stint at NAU, Pete fell in love with Monica. They had known each other since high school. Pete had been best friends with Monica’s younger sister who was tragically lost in a car accident. When they reconnected at NAU, they fell in love. She was his first 'super-serious-long-term girlfriend'. They stayed together for a year or so after graduation, but eventually went their separate ways. And then there was Jill … who became his wife. Nobody believed in Pete more, nobody rooted for Pete more. But like his other relationships, eventually Pete’s intensity was too much to overcome. I guess it should also be noted that it was during his marriage to Jill that Pete’s battle with addiction began to rear its ugly head. Jill stayed with Pete longer, and put up with more crap, than any woman should have had to. She truly is a saint.
He was born in Minneapolis, MN, the youngest of three boys. He spent the first five years of his life living in St. Louis Park (a Minneapolis suburb) until his family moved to Phoenix, AZ in the summer of 1980. Even though he lived in Minnesota for the least amount of time, it’s safe to say he loved his 'home state' more than anyone else in his family.
Pete took a roundabout path to his college degree, but ultimately graduated from Northern Arizona University in 1999 where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Social & Behavioral Science. He first went to NAU in the fall of 94 but never found his groove. His best friends joined the SAE fraternity—he did not (probably because I pressured him not to). After a rough start at NAU, Pete transferred to ASU where, unfortunately, he didn’t just have a good time—he had a great time. This led to Pete taking some time off from college. In the summer of 1996, Pete moved to Maui where he lived with me and my then girlfriend. While Peter & I were always very close, there was no other time in our lives where we were as close as we were during our time together in Maui. After Christmas that year, we both moved back to Phoenix and shortly thereafter Pete returned to Flagstaff & NAU…where he absolutely loved it.
Pete had an unbelievable group of life-long friends. Most of these friendships formed early on in his school years, beginning at Mercury Mine Elementary and Shea Middle School. The group of friends grew once he got to high school. Pete was a die-hard sports fan and an ultra-competitive athlete. He played varsity football and basketball at Shadow Mountain High School. His senior year the basketball team made it to the Final Four of the State tournament, where they got to play at America West Arena. It was on these high school sports teams that Pete developed his closest friendships. What’s always amazed me about Pete’s group of friends is how close everyone stayed with one another over the years. After high school, after college, and into their 20’s & 30’s. And I’m not talking about 3 or 4 people … it’s more like 15-20! Matt, Murph, Dan D, Dan S, Joel, Brett, Clay, Steve S., Steve C, James, Peter K, Nic B, Jeff, Andy, Chris, Mike, Ryan … you get the picture. Pete was very intense when it came to friendship, which was both a good and bad thing.
While in Maui, Pete learned to scuba dive and thus began what he believed to be his calling in life … to be underwater. Pete would often remark that he felt the most comfortable when he was diving or he would say of a dive trip or dive job, "This is what I’m meant to be doing." After graduating college, Pete spent some time in the mortgage industry and other brief career stints, none of which he enjoyed. What he really wanted to do was dive professionally. He spent most of the 2000’s advancing his dive career and expertise. He was immensely proud of becoming a PADI dive instructor with additional instructor certifications for DAN and EFR. Pete’s dive experiences covered Hawaii, California, Arizona, Mexico, Florida, and the Caribbean.
Written By: Robb Roesler
