Ray, as most of you know suffered a heart attack on the 4th of
July 2003 after returning from a brush response. Ray
pulled hose, climbed and fought fire with his crew. As they pulled
into quarters, many of the station members' families had
begun arriving to watch the July 4th fireworks display from the church
below. Ray told his crew to take care of their safety
equipment and to attend to their families, and he would take
care of the brush patrol. Shortly after washing the rig
and replacing the hose beds Ray's heart began to give out.
A member noticed that Cap Peterman looked to be in distress and
summoned the on-duty paramedic. Ray was transported to
Northridge Hospital, on request, where he received excellent
care.
Ray fought for months to get well and was finally able to return
home for a short time. During his visits home, his wife
Marlene and son Doug were able to take him to the mall and Home Depot
for shopping outings. Unfortunately, Ray had a few set
backs and had to return to Northridge and sadly passed away on
January 17th. Marlene, Doug, and the rest of the Peterman
family were blessed to have a few additional weeks of his
presence.
Captain Peterman served in Korea before becoming a firefighter
on September 1, 1962 and promoted to Captain January 20,
1977. Ray received several Department awards including its
highest award, the Medal of Valor, for his efforts during the
Northridge Earthquake and recently was the Captain of the Year
at Councilmen Bernson's annual luncheon.
Ray was easy to find during the day, all anyone had to do was go
to the front office. He was always doing some type of
department work or planning a drill to improve his crews'
knowledge. He made out like he was this tough guy but he
was just a softy down deep. Ray called everybody
"babe" and would go the extra mile or two to help you
out. If you called and needed a day off at the last
minute, you always got a stern answer, "Why did you wait
till the last minute?" But then you would get that
phone call, "Hey babe!...Peterman...It took sometime, but
your off...See ya."
Before Cap Peterman retired, his dream was to have his son
become an LAFD firefighter. His dream came true a year and
half ago as Doug graduated the fire academy and is now assigned
to Fire Station 64. Ray did everything possible to
help Doug through his training. Doug felt the
pressure of the academy and wanted desperately to please his
father and mother as well as himself, which meant many long days
studding and drilling. Doug stuck it out and fulfilled
their dreams. Ray and Marlene were proud parents as Ray
pinned Doug's badge on.
Interestingly, Ray and Marlene met on the TV show "The
Dating Game." Marlene was in town from Scotland and
after the show, she called her mother and told her she had just
won a man on a game show. The rest is history. Ray
was a true family man.
Ray, a 42-year veteran, selected Fire Station 28 as his last
assignment to wind down his career. Wait a minute...Did I
say wind down? I really don't think Ray knew what the
meaning of the words "wind down" truly meant.
Ray you see, was a Company man that gave 110% everyday. He
loved hisery job and the Los Angeles City Fire Department. It
was his goal. I believe, to make ev member under his
command a better firefighter. Safety was always on his
mind and training was his avenue to keep his members
informed. I myself, a 29-year veteran, always seemed to
learn something at Ray's thorough drills. Ray was a
taskmaster. This man made a difference on this job through
his tireless work ethics.
Ray and Marlene were to travel after his retirement and were
making plans to do so right up until the end. Now Cap has
first class seating with a window seat wherever he wants to go
and, Neapolitan ice cream and Pepsi will flow like rivers.
Happy traveling "babe" and God bless you and your
family.
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