It was an especially bittersweet Father’s Day for Alice McDonnell this year as she mourned the death of her dad, Arthur Peterson, who died three days after being hit by a driver June 12th on Howard Street. Peekskill police said on Friday they had a person in custody but wouldn’t provide further comment when queried by the Herald on Tuesday. 

McDonnell, who was adopted as a child and grew up in Valhalla, NY, met Peterson for the first time two and a half years ago. She told the Herald that when adoption records were opened in 2020, she paid $50 and six weeks later received her pre-adoption birth certificate. McDonnell, 54, of New Fairfield, Connecticut, reached out to her birth mother – and subsequently learned that her dad was Art Peterson of Verplanck. 

McDonnell and her husband John drove from Connecticut to Verplanck to meet her biological father. She was nervous to go to the door and started wondering about ‘what if he didn’t want to know me’ – so her husband made the initial contact. Peterson opened the door, and when he heard who they were he said, “I’ve been waiting for this for 50 years.” They invited him to Yuka’s, a local restaurant, and talked for hours. “That first time we met, there was an instant connection. I felt like I met my best friend and after a few hours of getting to know each other,” McDonnell said Peterson told her, ‘I’m in it for the duration,’ she recalled through tears describing the moment.  

That began a daily relationship during the next two years with her father, who would have celebrated his 80th birthday today, June 20th. The first Father’s Day McDonnell celebrated with Peterson was also his birthday, and it was a joyous occasion. He had an instant family with McDonnell, her husband, and their two daughters.

 “We would see each other at least two times a week and there were about five to seven phone calls a day.” She described the phone chats as the ‘wake up’ call, the ‘coffee’ call, the ‘good night’ call – and all the other ‘calls’ in between. “We were making up for lost time,” she said. 

Peterson, who grew up in Ossining and graduated from Ossining High School in 1961, was the oldest child of Arthur and Helen (Glass) Peterson. After high school he entered the US Air Force and was honorably discharged. For 35 years he owned and operated a roofing business in Westchester County. 

He was passionate about cars and the friends he made through working on them. “He had encyclopedic knowledge about the small block Chevy motors,” said his younger brother Tom Peterson. He sold his beloved Chevy Nova last year after he finished his last race in it. He spent a lot of time building his 1975 Vega and was near completion of its V8 engine, said Tom. 

Peterson’s ‘uniform’ of the day was blue denim overalls. Besides working with cars, he played cards with friends at the Mt. Carmel Society in Verplanck. “He loved being with those guys,” said his brother.  He was well respected and loved by members of the car and card-playing communities he belonged to. 

In his younger days he was a bow hunter and pitched in a windmill softball league until he was in his 50’s. He practiced Judo and played the guitar. 

In addition to his daughter and son-in-law, he is survived by his granddaughters Riley and Casey McDonnell, his four siblings: Ken, Gary, Julie (Alan) Gualtiere and Thomas (Barbara) Peterson, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother Richard (Dickie) Peterson. 

Visiting hours are Thursday, from 3-7 p.m. at Dorsey Funeral Home, Ossining and a graveside service at St. Augustine’s Cemetery in Ossining on Friday at 10:30 a.m.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, 100 Woods Rd, Valhalla, NY 10595  or www.mariafarerichildrens.org