Traces of 

Time . . . 

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DAY of

APRIL 17, 2026

"Time moves slowly, but passes quickly...       

I'm trying to combine several birthday posts for Walt's birthday today April 17, 2026, but am not getting it together quite yet.

If you go back to the previous post...I have most of of his birthday posted on APRIL 17.

 Walt - Family Physician

and Surgeon in 

Burley Idaho - July 1, 1966

to January 14, 2005

Walt took flying lessons at the

Burley Airport in 1967, 

and got a small Cherokee 

Piper airplane. 

Then we had a 2-engine

Aztec with two other 

partners for a while. Walt flew 

us in that to a medical meeting 
in Guadalajara, Mexico in

October 1972.

Then he ended up with his

dream airplane--a Cessna 206

turbo-charged (means it was 

 like always taking off at sea level). 

It had the high wings that could

land on "pasture airstrips" without

loose rocks damaging the wings.

He was partners with

Newel and Leo.

Later Mike became

a partner, also.

Walt's happy place...

to fly with his wife and kids,

grandkids and friends...

...with Gary

...with Cortney and Kelsey

...with Kimble

♪♫♪♪♫ "Off 'he' goes into

the wild blue yonder..."♪♫♪♪♫

Info from Wkikpedia

"High Flight is a 1941 sonnet written by war poet John Gillespie Magee Jr. and inspired by his experiences as a fighter pilot of the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. Magee began writing the poem on 18 August, while stationed at No. 53 OTU outside London, and mailed a completed manuscript to his family on 3 September, three months before he died in a training accident. Originally published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it was widely distributed when Magee became one of the first post-Pearl Harbor American casualties of the war on 11 December,after which it was exhibited at the American Library of Congress in 1942. Owing to its gleeful and ethereal portrayal of aviation, along with its allegorical interpretation of death and transcendence, the poem has been featured prominently in aviation memorials across the world, including that of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986."

High Flight

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
– Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

 

Walt & Eileen - 1970s

...with three years when

serving June 1995 to

July 1998 as a

Mission President for the

Mexico Merida Mission.

Presidente Petersen

loved his missionaries. 

They worked very hard,

bicycled a lot of places, 

then it changed to all walking.

"Dr. Petersen" did surgery on a lot

of missionaries' ingrown toe nails

during these three years.

Hermana Petersen loved 

the missionaries, too.

How blessed we were to

serve with such outstanding

young Elderes y Hermanas!

When we finished our 3 years

in July 1998, the mission office

(behind us) and a chapel to the 

other side of us were torn down

and the

Merida Mexico Temple 

was built there.

Dedicated missionaries...

Going back 25 years

before he was  a

mission president...

Walt - 1970-1976

Bishop

Burley 7th Ward 

We started skiing in

JANUARY 1976.

The photo below was 

about 1977--Walt age 42.

Guess which number 

Walt is at this

ski lesson at Sun Valley...

"7" our family #.

Walt also served on the high council,

as a counselor in a stake presidency, 

as a stake president of the new

Burley Idaho West Stake when

it was divided from the

Burley Idaho Stake in

May 1973. 

He served 9 1/2 years

 until November 1992.

He was called as a patriarch

in February 1993 to give 

blessings in Spanish 

throughout all 14 stakes

in the Magic Valley.

 1994 he was called by

President Hunter

to be a

mission president,

serving 3 years--

June 1995-July 1998--

which photos have been

posted above.

Branch President/Bishop --

Young Single Adult Branch/Ward

covering 7 stakes --

Burley/Burley West/Declo/

Oakley/Paul/Rupert/Rupert West

Jan 2000-Sept 2004

Walt worked 7 more years 

after we returned in 1998, 

then retired on January 14, 2005,

at age 70.

Here is Walt three weeks before

he retired having just delivered

his last baby of about 3500-4000.

 I enlarged photo to see Walt better.

Recording in the chart...

Here's a photo of our

home on Burton Avenue,

Burley, Idaho,

that January of 2005.

Walt then served three more

missions with his wife:

2. Area Medical Advisor 

for 2000 missionaries in

the 12 missions in Central America

for 23 months.

March 2005 to February 2007...

We lived in Guatemala City,

and went to zone conferences

in all 7 countries:

Guatemala, Belize,

El Salvador, Honduras,

Nicarauga, Costa Rica,

and Panama.

In between these missions,

we served as temple workers in 

the Boise Idaho Temple, 

driving 320-miles round trip

each Saturday from 

March 2007-March 2008.

During this same year

Walt served on the 

Twin Falls Temple Dedication

 Committee  with other

former stake presidents 

from throughout the

Magic Valley--one of them

his best friend from Wendell

High School days--

Rulon Chandler.

Elder Brent H. Nielson,

Area Seventy, was over

this Committee.

Walt had been his bishop.

Sunday, August 24, 2008 was

the  dedication

of the Twin Falls Temple.

The mural on the back wall

is of Shoshone Falls.

Us at the Twin Falls Temple --  After our mission to Argentina-Uruguay-Paraguay, we were temple workers on the Wednesday evening shift, which did a Spanish session.

Walt was called as a sealer in September 2010.

The Sunday after the Twin Falls 

Temple Dedication,

was our "farewell" on

August 31, 2008 for

our medical mission to the 

South America South Area.

 

3. Area Medical Advisor for

2300 missionaries in the 

15 missions for the

South America South Area of

Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay,

for 18 months --

September 2008 to March 2010.

We lived in Buenos Aires.

#4 and final mission Walt served was

as Temple President of the new

San Salvador El Salvador Temple

July 2011 to November 2014.

Temple Presidency

and the 

Temple Matron and 

her Assistants.

Left: Pdte Rafael y

Hna. Aida Majano

Right: Pdte Eduardo y

Hna. Consuelo Alas.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Our children grew up...

All seven graduated from BYU. 

Six served a mission...

and all have been sealed in the temple...

{We have had 4 who have divorced...

three have left the Church...

we gave them roots,

then wings...

And we love each of them dearly.}

Walt became a grandfather at age 53

when our first grandchild

was born--Aimee. 

Twenty-six years later--

by age 80--in 2014 he was

the grandfather of 39 grandchildren.

Aimee, Daniel, Katie, Heidi, Sam, Ashley, Michael, 

McKell, Abbey, Jacob, Isaac, 

Kelsey, Cortney, Kimble, Carter, 

Joshua, Anna, Sam, William, 

Mikayla, Jacee, Jackson, 

Maddie, Rigdon, 

Emma, Taylor, Avery, Elliott, 

Slate, Olivia, Kayden, Jordan, 

Seth, Sarah, Ben, Josh, 

Liz, Adam, and Anna.

10 great-grandchildren in our family...

with one due in Aug 2026 

Walt became a great-grandfather in 

2016 when he was 81 years old.

When Walt died at age 86 in 

August 2020

he had two great-grandchildren.

Taitum and Diesel.

Since his death, 8 more great-grandchildren have been born--

Umi, Scottie Marie, Maeve,

Ohi'a, Ingrid, Lively, Penelope

Counting our grandchildren's

spouses,

Michael, Kelly, Parker, Pono, Sara,

Boyd. Darby, Maddie, Spencer, and David,

this brings our posterity to 75.

We have joy in our posterity.

Family photo for our 

50th Wedding Anniversary

June 2011

 Last family photo at

our home in Burley 

for our Family Reunion

-- WEPR stands for--

" walt & Eileen Petersen

Family Reunion"

IN JULY 2018 

 before we moved 

from Idaho to Utah.

Janie & Shawn in charge.

"Aloha" theme

Our 7 children and their spouses in 2018...

Left to right:

Natalie & Steve, 

Brian & Jennifer, Gary...

to be continued