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Portrait of Rodney "Cork" Jon Peterson
VETERAN
Forever in our hearts

Rodney "Cork" Jon Peterson

February 5, 1948 – April 14, 2022
Lived 74 years
Fairmount Memorial · Spokane, WA
"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight." ♡
In service to country

Thank you for your service

Rodney served in the armed forces. We honor that service here.

Life story

An amazing husband, father, and Papa that left us too soon.

Rodney was born on February 5, 1948, in Spokane, WA where he made his home for the next 74 years. He graduated from Shadle Park High School in 1966 and immediately joined the United States Navy where he proudly served his country for four years, working fuels aboard the USS Ticonderoga and USS Coral Sea aircraft carriers during the Vietnam War until his Honorable Discharge in 1970.

In August of 1968, he married his best friend and love of his life, Gail Summers. Together they raised a beautiful family and lived life blessed with 53 loving years of marriage.

After his time with the Navy, Rod's passion for service continued and he spent 24 years with the Spokane Police Department, retiring as a Corporal in 1995, allowing him to spend more time with his family. He found joy in bowling, hunting, fishing, picking huckleberries and pillow fights with his grandchildren, spending evenings by his son's firepit, traveling by land and sea with his wife and discovering a love for golf.

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Lifetime

The world Rodney knew

Family milestones in gold, history for context

1948
Born February 5
1949
Rodney was 1 when Gene Autry recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
1955
Rodney was 7 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat
1962
Rodney was 14 when the Seattle World's Fair opened with the new Space Needle
1971
Rodney was 23 when Walt Disney World opened in Florida
1981
Rodney was 33 when MTV began broadcasting
1995
Rodney was 47 when "Toy Story" became the first fully computer-animated film
2004
Rodney was 56 when Facebook was launched
2014
Rodney was 66 when the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII
2021
Rodney was 73 when the James Webb Space Telescope was launched
2022
Passed away April 14, age 74
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Tracy Burtness 74w

Memorial Day 2025

This Memorial Day, I remember my father—not just for the life he lived, but for the love he gave, the lessons he taught, and the legacy he left behind. Forever missed, forever honored.

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