Arthur E. Petersen

PHOENIX - Arthur E. Petersen, Jr. passed away on Sept. 5, 2013. One of a kind! Art was born in Evanston, Ill. on Aug. 24, 1924 and grew up in Bronxville, N.Y. He attended Colgate University until enlisting in the Army. Art completed OCS Infantry School in Aug. of 1944. He served in WWII as part of the invasions of Okinawa and in the Philippines. Upon separation of service he moved, with his family, to Phoenix. He then attended the University of Arizona. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. Art, with his father, was in the insurance business. Always an entrepreneur, he soon fell in love with real estate and began a long career creating major land developments and property sales. Among his most notable transactions were the sales of the Camelback Inn to Marriott Corp, McCormick Ranch to Kaiser Aetna, and most recently the 122 acre Sinclair Oil parcel in Paradise Valley idealized as a future Ritz Carlton resort. He was also involved in Town and Country Center, Camel Square and Anchor Center. In addition, he developed and was a Founding Member of Camelback Country Club. In Santa Barbara he developed a 320 acre avocado ranch, many residential properties and again represented Sinclair Oil in the sale of the 265 beachfront acres known as More Mesa. Art was a talented athlete, loving tennis and golf, becoming state amateur golf champion in 1965. His joy was fly fishing the streams of Arizona and Idaho. Art worked endlessly at the "next big deal" but he simply loved a good story and had many to tell. Predeceased by his son, Jim; and grandson, Josh, he is survived by his children, Signe, Charlie (Sally); their mother, Nina; and grandchildren, Kelly (Che), Charlie (Lacey), Michael (Nicole), Marina; and great-grandson, Cody; his wife, Jill; and her children, Brooke, Alison, Brad; and grandchildren, Ashley, Alexandra, and Noah. A celebration of life was held at Camelback Country/Golf Club on Sat., Sept. 14, 2013 from 1 to 3 p.m.