Carroll Peterson's retirement in 1988 as a chemical engineer gave him the opportunity to take on more volunteer commitments. "Once Dad retired from Peerless Pump (in Monroeville), where he worked after retiring from U.S. Steel, he became a volunteer at the Jefferson Medical Center in Jefferson Hills," said his daughter, Diane Mathis. Carroll V. Peterson, of Clairton, a career U.S. Steel chemist, died on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006, at Riverside Nursing Center, McKeesport. He was 88. "Dad enjoyed visiting the patients in the hospital and trying to make their stay much more comfortable," his daughter added. As a member of the Clairton Lions Club, Peterson was awarded the prestigious Melvin Jones Fellowship Award by Lions International -- the highest recognition given to members who embody the organization's humanitarian ideals. "I can still remember my father standing on the street corners of Clairton soliciting funds for the Lions eyeglass drive," said Mathis. "Dad had a warm and gracious personality that attracted passersby," she added. "When it came time to collect cash donations during the drives, he always came in first." Born and raised in Chicago, Carroll Peterson was one of two children in the family of Swedish immigrants Victor and Annie Johnston Peterson. "My grandfather was a stone mason, who built his own house," said Mathis. "They spoke Swedish at home. When Dad enrolled in kindergarten, he couldn't speak a word of English." In 1935, following graduation from Senn High School in Chicago, where he played the violin, Mr. Peterson enrolled at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where, in 1939, he received his degree in chemical engineering. Mr. Peterson began his career as a chemical engineer with Gulf Oil Corp. in Pittsburgh, prior to spending more than 30 years in project engineering and management for U.S.Steel's Clairton Works. It was while he was purchasing a Buick in 1941 that he first met Jennie Prince, a secretary at the Buick dealership in Clairton. Jennie Peterson vividly recalled the day she met her future husband. "Although he was listening to the salesman, he kept looking over at my desk," she said." I didn't mind. He was handsome and personable. We began dating and were married for 64 years." "They were married in 1942 and out of respect to my mother, he bought nothing but Buicks the rest of his life," said Mathis. Mrs. Peterson, who is an avid gardener, recalled the evenings they spent together at Lions meetings, functions and socials. "I always supported his many humanitarian efforts and he supported mine," she added. "When our son joined the Boy Scouts, I volunteered as a Cub Scout leader and Carroll as a Scoutmaster." An avid reader, Mr. Peterson was also a volunteer at the Clairton Public Library. His commitment to help others extended to his membership in the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in Clairton, where he was involved in numerous philanthropic efforts. Mr. Peterson is survived by his wife, Jennie Prince Peterson; son, Craig C. Peterson, of Whitehall; daughter, Diane Peterson Mathis, of Houston, Texas; and sister, Jane Suggs, of Zion, Ill. Friends received from noon to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the A.J. Bekevac Funeral Home, 555 Fifth St., Clairton. Funeral services at 11 a.m. Monday in the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, 325 Walnut St., with Pastor Kimberly A. Rapczak officiating. Burial in Jefferson Memorial Park, Pleasant Hills.