Charles John "Charlie" Peterson, 75, of Laurel, and Emmetsburg, Iowa, died June 12, 2009.

Born Dec. 7, 1933 in Faribault, Minn., he was the son of Dorothy (Turner) and Jack G. Peterson. He grew up in St. Paul, Faribault and Mankato and attended Pillsbury Academy in Owatonna, Minn. In 1956 he graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. In the 1970s, he received a master's degree in public administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Ill., and was a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Chicago. After graduation from St. Olaf, he joined the Army and studied Serbo Croatian at the Army Language School. After discharge as a sergeant, he joined the Army Reserves in 1962 and retired with more than 20 years of service as a reserve lieutenant colonel. He worked at the Department of the Army in military intelligence during the Cold War. In 1989 he returned to Laurel and worked at Fort Meade.

During his Army service in Germany, he revived a boyhood interest in stamp collecting and assembled an impressive collection of German stamps. While living in Europe, he attended international stamp shows and qualified to judge philatelic literature and stamp collections. He helped write the regulations for exhibiting philatelic literature; edited newsletters, journals and books.

He was a past president of the American Philatelic Research Library, past vice president of the American Philatelic Society; APS representative for the International FIP Philatelic Literature Commission and a director of the International Federation Internationale de Philatelie. He received many philatelic awards over the years, the most recent being the Bernard A. Henning award for excellence and improvements in philatelic judging. He judged more than 30 international shows, allowing him and his wife to travel to many countries on five continents.

He was a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, and was a volunteer teacher, tutor and financial auditor. In 2008, he and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

In addition to his parents, his son, Charles O. Peterson, preceded him in death. Mr. Peterson is survived by his wife, Lanny Peterson, of Laurel and Emmetsburg; daughters Julie Brigham, of Smithsburg, and Constance Uthoff, of Ellicott City; son John Peterson and his wife, Aida Lebbos, of Ellicott City; grandchildren Sonja Brigham, Spenser Peterson, Laila Peterson, Virginia D'Aquila, Cameron D'Aquila, Taylor Uthoff and Kerrie Uthoff; sisters and brothers-in-law Cheryl and Alan Burris, of Carnation, Wash., and Nadine and Deryl DeMars, of Faribault; brother Bruce Peterson, of Faribault; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Visitation was June 15 at Fleck Funeral Home, 7601 Sandy Spring Road. Funeral services were June 16 at 11 a.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, with the Reverends Tom and Connie Miller officiating.

Memorial donations may be made to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 7607 Sandy Spring Road, Laurel, MD 20707, or the American Philatelic Society, American Philatelic Research Library, 367 Phoenix Ave., Bellefonte, PA 16823.

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