Obituary: Kelsey, Peter Low
They lived and worked in Boxford on the 500 acre family nursery.
His grand-father, Harlan P Kelsey, was a horticulture pioneer and preservationist for eastern national parks.
The Kelsey Arboretum remains in Boxford today.
After WWII, they moved to Albuquerque, NM where his father worked at Los Alamos.
Peter finished HS and studied engineering in Albuquerque.
He was drafted into the Army and stationed in Leavenworth, KS between wars.
He performed show tunes from South Pacific for the troops while Mary Jane Brunsman, a concert pianist, directed the group.
Peter and Jane were married July 18, 1959 in Leavenworth.
He worked briefly for Douglass Aircraft in LA before accepting a position in the high temperature insulation and refractories business, E J Bartells, in Portland, Ore.
The family moved to Spokane in 1982.
He later retired after 38 years with Bartells.
Jane passed away in 2008.
Peter married Terri Gruber in 2011.
He had a lifelong love of classical music, animals and cars.
He drove his 1947 Studebaker Commander with the Inland Northwest Studebaker Drivers Club.
He is remembered by his colleagues as loyal, reliable, honest, compassionate, and honorable.
He was a sensitive, gentle, and loving father and husband.
He is survived by his wife, Terri; daughter Jennifer Meagley (Doug Webb); son Matthew Kelsey (Christy), son Patrick Kelsey, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jane, brother Harlan P III (Turk), sister Anne, and his parents.
Services will be held Saturday, February 7, 1pm at the Spokane Buddhist Temple, 927 S. Perry St. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice House North, 102 W. Rhoades, or SCRAPS, 6815 E. Trent, Spokane Valley.