Last updated: September 28, 2022
Person
Donald Arthur Peterson
Quick Facts
Significance:
Flight 93 Passenger
Date of Birth:
04/26/1935
Date of Death:
09/11/2001
Age: 66
Hometown: Spring Lake, New Jersey
Occupation: Retired President, Continental Electric Company
Reason for travel: Vacation
On September 11, Donald Arthur and his wife Jean Hoadley Peterson were traveling to Yosemite National Park in California for a vacation with Jean’s brother and parents. When they arrived at the Newark airport early that morning, they were offered the opportunity to take Flight 93 instead of their scheduled, later flight. Don was the retired President of Continental Electric Company in New Jersey. Volunteerism, driven by deep faith, filled him and his wife's retirement years. Don worked with men struggling with drug and alcohol dependency. They mentored and supported many in their church and community of Spring Lake, New Jersey. Don grew up in South Orange, New Jersey, had an electrical engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and earned an MBA from Rutgers University. When the Petersons married in 1984, each had three children from a previous marriage. Don’s personal Bible was recovered at the Flight 93 crash site, complete with a handwritten list of men for whom he was praying.