Obituary

Glenn Gene Peters Sr. of Arizona passed away on Oct. 14th, 2021. Glenn was born in Bellingham, WA to Raymond Glenn Peters and Docia Ruth King on March 12th, 1948. As a young child his family moved around a lot but he ended up in Raleigh, NC where he grew up with his sister Rosa. When he was 17 he hitchhiked to Bellingham, WA to live with friends of the family the Bests. He left a note for his parents and just took off, but they knew where he was heading. He made it across the country in 3 days hitchhiking mostly getting rides with truckers. When he arrived in Bellingham Charlie Best told Glenn that he could stay with their family if he went to school, so Glenn agreed to attend Bellingham Highschool. Susan Tooker was friends with Carolyn Best and visited the Best home often. When Susie came over and met Glenn for the first time, he was working on a 1955 Chevy with Richard. When Glenn met Susie she was wearing shorts and he said that as soon as he checked out her legs that was it. Glenn and Susie both say that when they met there was an immediate attraction that turned into a lifelong love and a marriage of 54 years.
In the early years they started dating and Glenn bought a 1954 Plymouth for $25 and would take Susie to the drive-in movies. They dated that whole Summer and by the end of it they were both in love. They decided to run off and get married and made it from Bellingham to Tacoma and were back home within a couple days. Susie’s father Bob and her uncle Bill were quite upset when they found out and were planning on tracking them down. Glenn and Susie were heading home and lost their brakes on the Lakeway Dr. exit. After getting back home and working things out Glenn finally got the blessing to marry Susan Marie Tooker on Jan. 20th, 1967. They moved into a small apartment on Holly St. and started their life together.
Glenn was working at Bellingham Cold Storage and Sue was home preparing to start a family. On Sept. 19th, 1967 Trisha Marie was born into the family when Glenn and Sue were living on Garden St. At that time Sue’s father Bob was in the hospital so Sue’s younger siblings Rick and Judy were staying with them for a few months. Shortly after they moved back into the family home on Russell St. to save money and take care of the kids. They were able to save $500 to buy their first home on Sunset Drive for $15,000 so they could continue to raise their family. On Aug. 27th, 1969 Tina Marie was born but unfortunately due to premature birth was unable to survive. On Nov. 11th, 1970 Gina Marie was born into the family who became the second oldest living daughter. On March 22, 1973 Glenn Jr was born and became the first and only boy in the family. They had planned on naming him Eric but at the last-minute Glenn decided to name him Glenn Jr. after him. On Jan, 9th, 1975 Kara Marie was born to become the baby of the family. The family eventually built a home on the Smith Rd. where they raised, they continued their family. Glenn worked at RG Haleys for years and then moved over to Brooks Manufacturing where he was forced into retirement by a bad accident that crushed his leg and made it impossible for him to work.
Glenn’s children share the following stories of their Father:
Trisha remembers having to ride in his 1964 Chevy Malibu’s wagon when Glenn gave her rides to school. She would get picked up and dropped off down the street and would duck down so her friends wouldn’t see her.
Gina remembers one time when Glenn was trying to quit smoking and she was carving pumpkins with Jr. on the back porch. It seemed like their pumpkin seed flicking set him off and he went into rage mode. He threw the pumpkins in the woods and the kids ran for the hills to hide. After he took off in his sweet Malibu wagon to cool off, he came back home to say laughing “You guys were scared weren’t you”?
Glenn Jr. remembers all the tv dinners and secret Kraft macaroni and cheese recipes. Susie would work until 8pm at night and Glenn would make dinner for the kids. We watched a lot of tv and ate a lot of prepared foods. He took good care of us and always worked hard to take care of the family.
Kara remembers watching MASH, going to Wins drive Inn and eating in the car by the water, and going to a of Antique auctions and garage sales.
Glenn and Sue moved out of Washington to Mona Utah in 2005 where they lived by Glenn Jr. and his family. In 2013 they moved to Arizona to live by Sue’s brother Rick and his family.
Glenn has always loved old cars and could tell you the make and model of any car from a mile away. He was also a huge NASCAR fan. He loved collecting antiques with Susie and enjoyed traveling around and seeing what they could discover together. Glenn and Sue have always been best friends and in their later years did everything together. They enjoy each other’s company and share the same hobbies.
Glenn is preceded in death by his parents Raymond Glenn Peters & Docia Ruth King, sister Rosa Shaw, and daughter Tina Marie.
Glenn is survived by his wife Sue, 4 children and spouses (Trisha Peters, Gina & Troy Cummings, Glenn & Carrie Peters, Kara & Dean Tryon), brother-in-law Rick (Rick & Liyan Tooker), Sister in-law Judy (Judy & Casey Haugness), 12 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, several nieces & nephews, and his beloved cat Charlie. Glenn could be friends to just about anyone he met and will be dearly missed.
There will be a viewing at 2pm Tuesday Oct. 19th, 2021 at Thompsons Funeral Chapel in Goodyear, AZ followed by a Celebration of Life at a later date in Bellingham, WA.