Dr. Kenneth Dean Peterson was born on June 28, 1925 and passed away on March 9, 2020 at the age of 94. Dean, as he was called by his family, grew up in Montana and worked on his parents’ wheat farm until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945 and served in Italy until his honorable discharge in 1946.
While attending Western States Chiropractic College (now University of Western States), Kenneth married JoAnne Spaulding. He graduated in 1951 with dual degrees in chiropractic and naturopathic medicine and established his practice in Hermiston after seeing the influx of construction workers for the McNary Dam. Ken and JoAnne settled in Hermiston where they raised their six children. Dr. Ken’s reputation as a gifted physician was evidenced by the great distances that people traveled in order to see him. Patients as far away as Alaska came to Hermiston for treatment from him. His son, Dr. Kris, joined him at the Peterson Clinic in 1980 where Dr. Ken continued to practice until 2017, when he retired after 64 years of practice.
Dr. Ken was honored as a Living Legend in 2010 by National College of Natural Medicine (now NUNM), where he had provided critical support when the institution was founded. He was recognized for 57 years of dedicated service and advancing the profession of natural medicine. NCNM (now NUNM) also conferred the status of Honorary Alumnus upon Dr. Ken in recognition of his efforts to advance naturopathic medicine’s reputation, prestige, and pursuit of excellence. He was the second person to receive this title in the university’s long history.
He and JoAnne enjoyed worldwide travel, including adventures to China (where they climbed the Great Wall), a mission to India, Norway (his ancestral home), Ireland, Iceland, Russia, Australia, Peru, and many cruises to Alaska. In 2018 he invited his entire family on his last Alaskan cruise. Only the African Safari was left in his bucket list of travels. Kenneth was a lifelong student of expanding his knowledge for the benefit of his patients, cherished time with his family, and valued his Christian faith. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
A graveside service with military honors and memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 11. Please see Burns Mortuary of Hermiston for details and a live stream of the services.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests a contribution to National University of Natural Medicine.