Donald Arthur Peterson, 85, died December 31, 2020. He was a member of Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Presbytery del Cristo) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Don was active in the church throughout his life, serving as a deacon and an elder. He also served as a member of the General Assembly Council of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Don was born December 8, 1935, to Arthur and Geneva Holmes Peterson in River Forest, Illinois. He received a degree in economics from Miami of Ohio University, and a masters in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He met Gwendolyn Entz Peterson while working as a City Planner in Denver, Colorado. They married September 27, 1963. Don and Gwen had two daughters, Nicole and Cecily.

Don worked as a City Planner for Lake County, Illinois, then moved to Albuquerque in 1968, where Don worked as an Assistant Planning Director, Zoning Administrator & Zoning Hearing Officer for the city. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of New Mexico in 1979 and then transitioned to work as a senior policy analyst for the Albuquerque city council until 1994. In 1995 he opened a private legal practice and taught at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning, until he retired in 2005.

The Don & Gwen Peterson Missionary Partnership Endowment was established in 1990 to fund the ministry of persons approved for service through the Missions Partnership of Fraternal Missionary program of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.