Leland Paul Petersen
Obituary
Leland Paul Petersen, 58, of Gilroy, California, died in the company of loved ones on January 14, 2023, at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus, in Dover, Delaware. He was born the son of Leland Albert Petersen (deceased) and Sandra Lee Petersen on December 1, 1964 in San Jose, California.
Petersen graduated Class of 1983 from Gilroy High School, where he played Varsity football. That same year he joined the United States Army as an infantryman and paratrooper, serving in Company D, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. He earned an Army Service Ribbon, Expert Infantryman badge, Parachute badge, and Good Conduct medal. After receiving an Honorable discharge from active duty in 1986 at the rank of Specialist Four, he returned to his hometown of Gilroy to become a Maintenance Worker and Equipment Operator for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Petersen participated in The Boy Scouts of America, 4-H, and Future Farmers of America. He was an accomplished athlete and rancher with a passion for motorcycling, slalom water skiing, barbecue, rodeo events, and the military. ?
Petersen is preceded in death by his father (2022), paternal grandparents Leland S. Petersen (1948) and Pauline W. Rasmussen (1982), and maternal grandparents Harald E. Parker (1973) and Bonnie K. Parker (1996). He is survived by his mother, son Leland "Austin" Petersen, daughter Tiffany Ann Brownie, and granddaughter Abigail Brownie.
?A funeral with military honors will be held on Friday, February 3, 2023, at 2:30 p.m. at the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery, 32053 McCabe Rd, Santa Nella, CA 95322.
Published in Gilroy Dispatch · January 31, 2023