John Taylor Peterson

John Taylor Peterson January 10, 1951 February 1, 2014 John Taylor Peterson went to be with the Lord on Saturday, February 1, 2014, after a heroic 13-year battle against chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Services will be 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, February 4, at Lorena United Methodist Church with Pastor Jon Farrer officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. John was born to John T. Peterson and Nancy Houk Peterson of Waco, Texas, on January 10, 1951. He graduated from Richfield High School in 1969. John was a Baylor graduate and avid Baylor sports fan his entire life. He also obtained his Master of Library Science from Texas Woman's University. He began his career as a teacher at Meridian and later Killeen. John then became a librarian in Copperas Cove, a job that would foreshadow his future career. In 1982, John became a reference librarian at the McLennan County Library, the place he would meet his future wife, Janie. John eventually became branch manager of Lake Air Library, South Waco Library, East Waco Library and retired in 2008 from the Hoover Branch Library. He truly enjoyed his career, during which he touched many lives of both his co-workers and patrons. His retirement was due to his diagnosis of CLL. John would tell people that CLL, "saved his life" because if he had not been diagnosed with CLL, he would not have known he also had kidney cancer. In 2009, John had a stem cell transplant at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. John was a fighter and never complained; he was determined to meet adversity with courage and dignity. He is survived by his devoted wife of 32 years, Dorothy Janie; son, Taylor Marsh Peterson and wife, Emily; daughter, Anne Chellis Conine and husband, Aaron, stationed at Kabul, Afghanistan; grandchildren, Edward Taylor and Ivy Jane Peterson and John Blake Conine; sister, Nancy Peterson McGovern and husband, Bill; brother-in-law, Robert C. Overfelt, Jr and wife, Glenda; nephew, Joshua Overfelt and wife, Liz; nieces, Rebekah Castillo and husband, Ray, and Sarah McDonald and husband, Dustin; great-nieces, Viktoria Overfelt and Kallie McDonald; and great-nephew, Robert Edward Castillo. Pallbearers honored to serve are Peter Kultgen, Cullen Boland, Nathan Stehling, Kevin Conlon, Josh Hightower, and Royce Setzer. Honorary Pallbearers will be the members of the Flame and Cross Sunday School Class of Lorena United Methodist Church. Special thanks to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Dr. Elizabeth Shpall and Dr. Michael J. Keating; to Dr. Robert Anderson and staff at Texas Oncology; to Dr. Rodney Richie at Waco Lung Association; to the nurses and staff of 3 West at Providence Hospital and to Providence Hospice for the wonderful, gentle care given to John. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be directed to Lorena United Methodist Church, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for research on CLL, Providence Hospice, or Waco-McLennan County Library. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.whbfamily.com.