General Notes

A Brief Biography
by wife Hazel Doreen (Howard) Peters

Andrew Peters was born November 9th, 1923, the 5th of 8 children. The family lived on North 10th Street in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. When Andy was a boy, they often would play at nearby Pigeon River. One day Andy nearly drowned. Friends Mike Trasinski and Eddie Casey saved him. Andy was flailing his arms as he struggled in the water. Mike approached him, afraid that he might be pulled under himself by Andy. So Mike hit Andy over the head and about knocked him out, then pulled him to shore.

Andy attended Washington Elementary School and then went to North High for 2 years. His last two years of high school were finished at Central High since his parents had moved to Georgia Ave at the time. He graduated in 1941.

Andy went on to college at Emmanuel Missionary College in Michigan. He spent his freshman and sophomore years there and paid his way by working for grounds and maintenance doing carpentry work. After two years his brother Tony Peters, then in medical school at Loma Linda, invited him to join him and attend La Sierra College. Andy went to California. It took him 4 years to finish his degree since he went to school half time and worked the other to support himself.

Andy and fellow classmate, Roger Coon were the only two from their graduating class at La Sierra College to be selected to work as Ministerial Interns in Southern California Conference of SDA (Seventh-Day Adventists). Andrew Peters graduated from La Sierra College (Later Loma Linda University) in 1948 with a BA degree in Theology.

While at La Sierra, Andy met Hazel Howard. They were married May 27th, 1946 at the Seventh-day Adventist church in Porterville, California. Hazel lived in Visalia at the time, near Porterville, in Central California. They reared 2 children, ----- "-----" ----- Peters, born in 1948; and , ----- "-----" ----- Peters, born in 1951.

Andy's first assignment was the summer of 1948, working at the camp meeting and campgrounds at Lynwood, California. He then served as assistant to a conference Evangelist who was conducting a public evangelistic series of meetings in Santa Monica, California for about four months. He worked as music leader visiting people and some speaking at the evangelistic meetings.

He was then assigned to work at the end of 1948 as the district pastor of Lancaster and Ridgecrest in the Mojave Desert 90 miles apart. The area included Palmdale, Littlerock, Pear Blossom, Mojave, Tehachapi and Trona. When he became district pastor, the Seventh-day Adventists did not have any church buildings, but were meeting in the Lancaster Masonic lodge then moved to a Protestant Church. Andy together with the church members found a suitable site to purchase and build the first SDA church and first SDA church school in Lancaster.

At that time, the other church groups were meeting in the chapel belonging to China Lake Naval Base. Andy and the church members located a suitable site at Ridgecrest (On the other side of the fence from China Lake Naval Weapons Testing Base and built the first SDA church and the first SDA church school in Ridgecrest. Members who lived in the other areas on the Mojave Desert attended these 2 churches. A group of SDA's living in Tehachapi attended the Lancaster church.

1953-1957 Andy pastored the church in Santa Barbara, California.
1957-1959 Andy taught Bible and was a counselor at Lynwood Academy.
1959 Andy responded to a call to Singapore. He was Chaplain at Youngberg Memorial Hospital for 3½ years.
1963 Andy was assigned as President of the SDA Mission in North Borneo.
1966 Andy returned to the USA, he taught Bible and was counselor at Glendale Academy for two years.
1969 Andy was asked to be the principal of La Sierra Academy in charge over all of both the elementary school and Academy. He was principal of La Sierra Academy for seven years.
1978 Andy accepted an emergency call as President of Micronesia Mission, serving as interim president, arriving soon after the devastating Pamela Typhoon. Hazel remained in the states during that time unable to sell their home at Lake Arrowhead. After an intensive four months, Andy returned to the USA.

He was assigned as Pastor of the Newhall Church. After pasturing Newhall Church, he continued to live in Canyon Country for 16 years and commuted to other assignments. He was given the responsibility as associate pastor of Eagle Rock church, then as associate pastor of Vallejo Drive Church in Glendale, California. He was assigned as Pastor of Santa Paula Church 26 miles from home, commuting continued. The last year, a second church was added to his responsibility, a district, pastoring the 2nd church at Lake of the Woods, 90 miles from Santa Paula. During the wintertime there were times when the 5 Freeway and other roads were closed due to snow. Sabbath services were held mornings at Santa Paula and in the afternoon at Lake of the Woods in the mountains next to Frazier Park.

At the end of 1986, Andy retired early from the ministry, a long haul 1948 to 1986. But a few months later the Southern California Conference of SDA urged him to work for them part time as interim pastor. He gladly accepted and worked part time as interim pastor for the next six years; the longest nearly 2 years at Hollywood Church. He also worked as business/office manager for his doctor-brother Anthony Peters, MD in Burbank.

The January 17th, 1994 Northridge earthquake totaled the Andrew Peters home in Canyon Country. They moved the last part of April 1994 to Yucaipa.

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  Burial Notes

Cremated; Ashes in custody of his elder son.