Stephen Bruce Peterson

December 1, 1945 – September 23, 2026

Stephen Bruce Peterson—husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, craftsman, mentor, outdoorsman, football fanatic, teaser, and perhaps the original “influencer”—passed peacefully from this life on September 23, 2026, at approximately 6:20 p.m., surrounded by his wife and children.

Steve was born December 1, 1945, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Robert Sreeve and Shirley Jane Peterson. From his earliest years, Steve approached life with an abundance of energy, curiosity, competitiveness, and just enough mischief to keep everyone around him on their toes. His childhood stories included critters, hunting and fishing, sports, fast cars, and more than a few adventures that probably made his parents wonder whether he would survive to adulthood. Fortunately for all of us, he did.

Athletics became an important part of Steve’s life, particularly football. He played at Mesa High School and was part of a group of teammates recruited to play at Brigham Young University. At the time, Steve was not active in the Church and wasn't certain he would fit in at BYU. He seriously considered other schools before finally signing his letter of intent with BYU in 1964. Looking back many years later, Steve wrote of that decision, “Little did I know what was in store for me there and how my life would be changed forever.”

And it did change his life. His first year wasn't easy. A serious knee injury, academic struggles, and uncertainty about whether he belonged nearly caused him to leave BYU. He chose to stay—a decision he later described as one of the greatest blessings of his life. Steve recovered and went on to become a starting defensive player for the Cougars, playing his final BYU game in 1967. He later wrote that football had been a huge part of his life and identity for nearly a decade.

But football’s greatest impact on Steve had little to do with wins and losses. It was football that brought a somewhat wild and mischievous kid from Mesa to BYU and ultimately changed the direction of his life. BYU was where Steve grew up, became a better student, formed lifelong relationships, and developed a personal testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He later earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from BYU. Looking back at graduation, Steve wrote that during those years he had “found out who I was” and had gained a testimony and love for the gospel.

Steve remained a devoted BYU football fan for the rest of his life. Few things made him happier than attending a Cougar football game. For his family, it was fitting that the game he loved so much—and continued loving throughout his life—was also the thing that helped put his life on an entirely different path.

It was also during his BYU years that he met the love of his life, Rebecca Anne Winkel. After their first date, Steve walked back to his car with the distinct impression that someday he would marry her. He was right. Steve and Becky were married on December 20, 1969, beginning a marriage that would last more than 56 years. In the personal history he later wrote for his family, Steve dedicated it to Becky, calling her “my love, my life, and my light,” and crediting her with making him a better man.

Together, Steve and Becky raised five children: Chris (Jennifer), Ben (Soña), Melissa (Aaron), Jon (Janae), and Molly. Their family eventually grew to include 19 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Although Steve had earned a master’s degree in Public Administration, life had a different career in store for him. Almost by accident, he began building cabinets. What started with the intimidating prospect of building cabinets for an entire house grew into a career and a craft he loved. Steve eventually founded The Workbench and spent approximately 25 years in the cabinet business.

Steve was largely self-taught, but he was meticulous. Describing that first cabinet job, he wrote that he drew every cabinet, created his own cut lists, repeatedly checked measurements, and thought through every step because he “only wanted to do it once.”

That philosophy became part of his legacy. All three of his sons learned the cabinet and construction trades from their dad, and Chris and Jon continue in the cabinet industry today while Ben is a general contractor. Steve taught them much more than how to build a cabinet or a home. He taught them that details matter, that craftsmanship matters, and that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right.

A poem Steve learned from his sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Mason, stayed with him throughout his life. He thought enough of it to preserve it at the very end of his personal history:

“If you mean to do a thing

And mean to do it really

Never let it be by halves

Do it fully, freely…”

That was a pretty good description of Steve Peterson. He didn’t do much by halves.

Steve worked hard, and he played hard. He loved hunting, fishing, the outdoors, and sports—especially BYU football. Those passions never really changed. Even after Parkinson’s disease began making the things he loved more difficult, Steve wasn’t particularly interested in sitting on the sidelines. In 2023, despite wondering whether Parkinson’s would make the trip too difficult, he went on one last fishing adventure to Alaska. He went, he fished, and he did great.

Steve also had a lifelong love of flowers and gardening—a love that seemed to be in the Peterson blood. Both his grandfather and his father were well known in Mesa, Arizona, for the beautiful flowers they grew, and Steve inherited their green thumb. He especially loved planting bulbs and watching them return each year. His yard was always filled with beautiful flowers, carefully planted and tended. For a man who spent much of his life building things from wood, there was also something he loved about simply putting something in the ground, caring for it, and watching it grow

But as much as Steve loved football, fishing, hunting, woodworking, and tending his flowers, he loved people more.

Long before anyone had heard of social media or counted “followers,” Steve was an influencer in the truest sense of the word. His influence could be seen in the young men he worked with at church, the people who worked beside him, the boys he coached and mentored, his neighbors, his children, and eventually his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. People were better because Steve took an interest in them.

Children especially loved him, and Steve loved them right back. He was something of a baby whisperer. Even late in life, children in his ward and neighborhood gravitated toward him because they knew he would notice them, tease them, joke with them, and make them feel important.

Those fortunate enough to be loved by Steve may also remember that his affection wasn’t always gentle. There was “the claw,” Steve’s remarkably strong grip applied lovingly to the back of a neck or shoulder. Bigger and stronger grandsons—especially football players—might instead receive the famous “forearm shiver.” Steve loved to tease, wrestle, laugh, and occasionally remind a grandson that Grandpa was still tougher than he looked.

Steve was fiercely competitive, sometimes mischievous, and always ready with a little teasing. But beneath all of it was a man who genuinely loved people.

His greatest influence was on his own family. Steve taught his children to work hard, to be honest, to do things right, and above all, to love and support their family. If a child or grandchild had a game, performance, program, graduation, or other important event, Steve was there whenever it was humanly possible.

Steve’s faith in Jesus Christ became one of the defining parts of his life. His testimony was not simply inherited; it was something he developed personally over many years. He served faithfully in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including service with the Young Men, in bishoprics, as a Scoutmaster, as a stake missionary, and later as a full-time missionary. Steve and Becky served a full-time mission in Tahiti and also served together as missionaries at the St. George Historic Sites. Yet some of his favorite Church service may have been the simplest: serving in the nursery alongside Becky—not once, but three different times.

Steve’s faith became especially important following the death of his beloved daughter Molly in 2015. Losing her broke his heart. In his history, Steve wrote about leaning over Molly’s casket and telling her how much he had loved being her dad and how much he would love her until he saw her again. He later wrote simply, “I know that I will someday have a very happy and joyous reunion with Molly.”

Anyone in the family will probably admit—with a smile—that Molly was Dad’s favorite. And Steve wasn’t particularly interested in hiding it.

In his later years, Steve fought a long and increasingly difficult battle with Parkinson’s disease. The disease gradually took away many of the physical abilities and independence that had defined such an active man. Even so, it never took away his love for Becky and his family, his sense of humor, his interest in people, or his faith in what came next.

During his final months, as his body became increasingly tired, Steve often told his family that he was ready to “go home.” He wasn’t afraid of where he was going. His testimony of Jesus Christ, eternal life, and eternal families was deeply personal and absolute. And he looked forward with great anticipation to seeing Molly again.

On the evening of September 23, surrounded by Becky and his children, Steve finally went home.

His family has little doubt that somewhere on the other side there was a long-awaited reunion between a father and the daughter he had missed for eleven years. We can only imagine that Molly was the first in line.

Steve is survived by his beloved wife of more than 56 years, Becky; his children Chris (Jennifer), Ben (Soña), Melissa (Aaron), and Jon (Janae); 19 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and his brothers Robert, Paul, and Brian. He was preceded in death by his daughter Molly; his parents, Robert and Shirley Peterson; and his sister, Dana Kristen Elliott.

Steve Peterson leaves behind a lifetime of things he built, things he planted, and people he influenced. He built beautiful things from wood. He planted flowers that filled his yard with color. But his greatest legacy is found in the people he helped grow—the children he raised, the grandchildren he encouraged, the young people he mentored, the people he served, and the countless friends who were made to feel important because Steve Peterson took the time to notice them.

Steve built things that lasted, planted things that grew, and influenced people who will carry pieces of him forward for generations.

He was an original influencer, long before the word meant what it does today.

And his influence will continue for generations

Funeral Services

Friends and family are invited to a viewing on Thursday, October 1, 2026, from 6:00–8:00 p.m. at McArthur Funeral Home, 160 W. 700 S., St. George, Utah 84770.

An additional viewing will be held Friday, October 2, 2026, from 9:00–10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1762 South River Road, St. George, Utah. Funeral services will follow at the same location at 10:30 a.m.

Interment will follow at approximately noon at Tonaquint Cemetery.