By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Father Charles Peterman, 77, a priest for nearly 51 years, had served in the Archdiocese of Miami since 1982.
A Mass in celebration of his life also will be celebrated at St. Brendan�s Church, Miami, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9.
Father Peterman died Dec. 11, 2009, surrounded by his family in Illinois, where he had gone since being diagnosed with cancer in May 2009.
�He was such a gentle soul, a very kind man,� said Colette Downey, a sacristan at St. Ambrose Parish in Deerfield Beach, where Father Peterman was serving at the time of his death.
�He never had a negative thing to say about anybody and he was loved by our entire parish community,� Downey added. �Father Peterman would often say, �If you are having a bad day, just stop and think of Jesus�.�
Father Peterman, who had celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest in 2008, had served previously at St. Brendan in Miami, St. David in Davie and St. John the Baptist in Fort Lauderdale.
He was born June 11, 1932 in Pittsburgh, Penn., and ordained a priest in 1958. He served for 24 years in the Pittsburgh Diocese before joining the Archdiocese of Miami in 1982.
Father Peterman loved to compose poetry, correspond with friends he had made all over the world, read, travel with nephews, make puns, tell (bad) jokes and buy Christmas presents year-round for family and friends.
But most of all he loved bringing the message of compassion, forgiveness, love and the need for a sense of humor to the people he was called to serve. The predominant theme of his writings, stories and homilies was to use each day to bring the love and peace of God into the lives of others.
Father Peterman is survived by a brother and sister in law, John and Louanne Peterman; a sister and brother in law, Mary and Hank Campbell; and several nieces, nephews and grand-nieces and nephews.
The family requests that any donations in his memory be made to one of the charities that he faithfully supported: Heifer International, P.O. Box 6021, Albert Lea, MN 56007-6621; Pearl Buck Foundation, 520 Dublin Rd., Perkasie, PA 18944; Amnesty International, 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001; Doctors Without Borders, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030; Central Asia Institute, P.O. Box 7209, Bozeman, MT 59771-7209 (which builds schools in Pakistan to educate girls); or to a parochial school in the archdiocese.
