Ad Astra: Chris Peterson, 16 March, 2007

ERIC CHRISTOPHER PETERSON Chris Peterson, 49, died on March 16, 2007, in Henderson, Nevada after a courageous battle with cancer. He was a 1975 graduate of Martin County High School and a 1979 graduate of Florida State University. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. Chris was employed as a firmware engineer for Rockwell at NASA, working with the computer system of the space shuttle, and participating in the first through tenth launches of the shuttle. He left there to work for Harris Corp, in Palm Bay where he worked on top secret programs for the Federal Government. Later he worked for Nortel in the Research Triangle in Raleigh, NC. While there, Chris designed Caller ID features for the first all digital telephone switch. Chris also designed a new world market signaling board for that digital telephone switch. Finally, he developed security measures for the digital switch which allowed the government to get pin numbers from credit cards and other transactions. In his last job at Bally Technologies in Las Vegas, he began working on updates to world famous Bally 3 reel "Blazing-7" slot machines. For the past two years, Chris had been working on some of the most innovative and high tech products in the gaming market. These products are designed to go on line at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in 2007. He was predeceased in 1997 by his father, Walter A. Peterson. He leaves his mother, Margaret B. Peterson, and his sister, Pamela Peterson Daly. His survivors are his beloved wife, Patricia, and four children. His son Erik, 18, received a perfect score on the SAT and is a National Merit Scholar. His daughters Paige, 16; Haley, 13; an Ashley, 11, are in Honors Programs. He will be buried in All Saints Cemetery in Jensen Beach, FL.