John Elmer Peterson, 71, of Lake Geneva, WI and long time resident of Plainfield, IL, passed away on August 26, 2012 from heart failure.

Born to the late John Peterson and Catherine (Kehoe) Peterson in New Britain, CT, John grew up in Newington, CT. He graduated from St. Francis College (now University of New-England) in Biddeford, Maine and DePaul Law School in Chicago. John and Mary settled in Plainfield, IL, where they raised their children and John practiced law for 35 years.

They discovered Lake Geneva and purchased a house in 1972. John and Mary retired to this wonderful community in 2009. John was an active member in the Plainfield community as a long time baseball coach, Lions Club member, Rotary Club member, Plainfield Park Board member and the Mayor of the Village of Plainfield from 1993 to 1997. John participated in many legal associations. He was a member of the Illinois and Wisconsin Bar Association and founding member and past president of the Walworth County Estate Planning Council.

He is survived by his loving wife of 48 years Mary (Stawski), sister Catherine (Everett) Baker of East Sandwich, MA and children Mary Yost (Patrick) of Ossining, NY, Elizabeth Beinhauer (Richard) of Naperville, IL and John Peterson of Walworth, WI. He was the treasured Grandpa to Eric and Catherine Yost, Ethan, Avery and Owen Beinhauer and Hannah and Grant Peterson.

A private family memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in his name can be made to "The Time is Now" Wisconsin charity for families in need. P.O. Box 70 Pell Lake, WI 53157-0070 or the National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin 16655 W. Blue Mound Rd, Suite 240 Brookfield, WI 53005.