Myles Clayton Peterson

Myles Peterson’s Life Story

Myles Clayton Peterson was born in Sidney, Montana on June 17, 1931, to parents Christian and Mabel Peterson. He was their 4^th son joining his brothers Harvey, 5 years old, Clifford, 8 years old and Perry 10 years old at his birth.

A few weeks after leaving the hospital, baby Myles became seriously ill with digestive disorders, to the point where his parents were discussing his passing.

Eventually his health improved, and he thrived, living on a ranch in North Dakota located seven miles east of the Montana/Dakota state line.

Myles enjoyed school and looked forward to learning. Subsequently, his grades were positive except he was downgraded for talking too much. From 1^st through 8^th grade, Myles attended a one room school house out in the country. His first year, there were 11 students in the school. By the 8^th grade the enrollment was down to 3…Myles and two girls.

The final three years of grade school, he had only one teacher, Mabel Varner. She was very good at her job, and Myles learned a great deal from her teaching. With this limited enrollment, participating in athletics was pretty much out of the question, as was social upbringing lessons.

The school was 5 miles from his home. For the first 4 years he was driven to school in the Model F Ford by his Dad, Perry or Clifford. The last half of 4^th grade until the end of 8^th grade, Myles rode horseback to school on Pal.

In the Fall of 5^th grade, the schoolhouse burned to the ground. Only the wrought iron metal parts of the desks survived the fire. These metal pieces were gathered and piled in the brush beside the creek near the school.

The following summer, Myles remembered the desks from the school fire, went to the site, picked up the wrought iron remnants and sold them to the iron merchant in Sidney. He was so proud of his idea and initiative and had felt like he had hit the jackpot.

When Myles was 12, he helped with the hay harvest by driving a team of horses on the buckrake. He was considered a bit young for this job, but he was needed. His older brother, Perry, was in the Army and his brother Clifford was laid up with a bone infection in his knee.

This same year, Myles hooked up a team of horses to their wagon and drove around the county collecting scrap metal and animal bones to sell to the junk dealer in Sidney.

Another testament to his enterprising nature, during the 7^th and 8^th grades he set coyote traps between home and school. This earned some spending money for him as the state paid a $5 bounty per coyote and the fur-trade house paid $4 per pelt.

No doubt he was quite the enterprising boy!

In 1945 his folks decided to sell the farm equipment and livestock and rented out their ranch. The family moved to Billings, Montana. Myles attended Jr. high in Billings and graduated from Billings Senior High School in 1949.

He then worked on a couple of ranches as a ranch hand. Then he attended Eastern Montana College of Education later transferring to the University of Montana in Missoula. Myles graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Banking and Finance.

He was then drafted into the Army and took basic training in Fort Ord, California. Myles was deployed to Germany as a Battalion Finance Clerk.

After his time in the Army he got a job with General Motors Acceptance Corporation as a field representative, repossessing cars and collecting past-due accounts.

While at Eastern College he had become casually acquainted with a most-attractive Phyllis Cunningham.  This acquaintance developed into full romance. As time went on, and their relationship continued to grow and blossom, Phyllis encouraged Myles to fully put his trust in Christ as his Lord and Savior. He then recognized Hebrews 11:6 as an appropriate verse for him and tried to follow it as his guide.

Hebrews 11:6   “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Not surprising, the two soon married November 8, 1958 in Billings.

After working for GMAC he decided to resign and look for a job with less travel and less time away from home. The Peterson family was growing with Marty being born in 1960, Valerie Sue in 1962, and Adele in 1965.

Subsequently, he found employment with Banker’s Life Company out of Des Moines, Iowa, now know as Principal Financial Group. In his 31 years at Principal, Myles started as a Field Rep, and ended up in management. His job started out in Billings, then a transfer took him to Colorado Springs for the next ten years and his last move took him  to Lynnwood, WA. His work allowed him the flexibility to get away at times to attend his kids athletics and musical events. Those times were ones he greatly cherished.

Myles has always been musically inclined. He played guitar many years before discovering his love of the banjo at age 55. His banjo gave him hours of enjoyment and shared his delight with others.

After retirement, Myles longed-for wide-open spaces and sunshine while staying relatively close to his grown children and their families. He and Phyllis found Moses Lake, WA to offer the small community living they desired. They made that their home for 20 years. Finding Moses Lake a bit too far from family, they decided to return to the west side of the Cascade Mountains and settled in Issaquah, WA and lived there for 11 years. After a short visit to Adele and Dave’s in Queen Creek, Myles decided the Arizona life was for them. When Myles was 92 and Phyllis was 90, they uprooted themselves from Issaquah WA and settled here in the Gilbert area 2 ½ years ago.

Myles was very proud of his children. He loved his 8 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren. He often played on the floor with them and interacted so joyfully with them. Just last spring, at 93, he laughed while being body slammed by his 2 1/2-year-old great grandson.

Myles passed away ever-so peacefully while resting into his loving Savior’s arms on January 14, 2026.

Myles is survived by:

His loving wife of 67 years, Phyllis

His children: Marty (Sue), Valerie Davis (Mike) and Adele George (Dave)

His grandchildren: Jessica Davis Leisy (Luke), Matthew Davis (Cassie), Hannah George Kaas (Tucker), Melissa Davis Reid (Bryan), Steven George (Madison), Luke George (Ali), Jeff Peterson (Abbe) and Lynnae George Brown (Jonathan)

His Great Grandchildren: Drake Leisy, Stephanie Leisy, Eloise Kaas, Troy Leisy, Lillian Kaas, Isla George, Blake George, Sophia George, Juliet Brown, Benson George, and expecting three more great grand children within the next few months.

This concludes Myles’s life story but we thank God for the gift of his life, for his love and guidance and his steady presence. His faith and love will continue to shape us now and for generations to come.