Mark Peterman, z”l, died Dec. 12, 2021, at age 74 of acute myeloid leukemia after a hard year of illness. His life was one of family and professional dedication. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Judy; his son and daughter, Daniel (Chloe) and Abbie; and two cherished granddaughters, Samantha and Harper.

Born in Grand Rapids, Mich., to Milton and Muriel Peterman, May 31, 1947, he grew up a serious student and an avid skier. He was the older son in a family of high expectations. His sister, Jan Peterman Kahn, predeceased him. His younger brother, David Louis Peterman, is a physician in Boise, Idaho. Mark and Judy graduated college in 1969 as Michigan Wolverines (a lifelong devotion), after which Mark went to Columbia Law School and then came west to Portland. He began his legal career at the Rives, Bonyhadi and Hall law firm. In 1989, the Rives firm became Stoel Rives, Oregon's largest law firm. Mark's practice covered complex corporate work, punctuated every five years by adventurous sabbaticals with his family in Japan, England, Kenya, France, Senegal and The Gambia. Within the law firm, Mark was known for integrity, steely humility, fairness and the excellence of his work.

In 1998, the business world drew him away from Stoel Rives to a mortgage-servicing business that went from Wilshire Financial Services Group, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America to IBM. By the mid-2000s, Mark had an inside view of the coming financial meltdown, which he viewed with serious concern. His efforts to recommend caution were not heeded, but later he had the chance to redress this in part by serving as a director of the Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Kroll was established in 2010 to restore trust in the kind of bond credit ratings that were so poorly done in the runup to 2007.

Throughout Mark's years as a lawyer, he devoted each winter to skiing, mostly on Mt. Hood and Mt. Bachelor, but also in British Columbia and a bit in Europe. This led to buying a place in Park City, Utah, at the foot of a 10,000-foot-elevation ski lift.

He served on the board of Congregation Beth Israel. Mark had a deep interest in theater and served on the boards of Storefront Theater and Third Rail Repertory Theater. In retirement, Mark indulged in two distinct interests: collecting Depression era WPA (Works Progress Administration) prints and completing increasingly difficult bike trips. Riding with Skyline Velo, he began with the STP (Seattle to Portland). He twice rode the Markleeville Death Ride – 125 miles with 15,000 feet of climbing in one day in the High Sierra mountains, the second time when he was 71 years old.

In lieu of flowers or other gesture of condolence, Mark's family suggests a donation in memory of Mark to Congregation Beth Israel Endowment Fund, 1972 NW Flanders Street, Portland, OR 97209 or Jan Kahn Fund, Grand Rapids Civic Theater, 30 Division Avenue N., Grand Rapids, MI 49503.