Nick A. Peterson passed away at his home March 4, 2026, surrounded by family. He was eighty-seven years old. Visitation will be held from 5:00-6:00 p.m., Friday, March 13, 2026, at New Covenant Baptist Church, 11367 Chipley Hwy, Pine Mountain, Georgia. Service will follow. A private family burial will take place at Tift Memorial Gardens in Tifton, Georgia.
Mr. Peterson, fondly called “Pa Nick”, was born January 29, 1939, in Tifton, Georgia. He graduated from Tifton High School and earned his degree in Forestry from the University of Georgia. Mr. Peterson married his high school sweetheart, Nell Goff in 1963. After college, he worked for the forestry service, various wood dealerships and timber companies. Mr. Peterson moved to Pine Mountain in 1972 where he was involved in building a forestry business and realty company. Mr. Peterson was a member of New Covenant Baptist Church.
He is preceded in death by his wife of fifty-three years, Nell Peterson, parents, Dr. John H. Peterson Sr. and Mary W. Peterson, brother, John Peterson, and sister-in-law, Jan Peterson. He is survived by his son, Alton Peterson, daughter-in-law, Wanda Peterson, granddaughter, Amanda Ross, great-grandchildren Katelyn Martin, Jonathan Ross, and Wally Ross, sister, Mary Catharine Maze, brother-in-law, Hugh Maze, nephews, professional catfish angler Greg Maze, and Jonathan Peterson (Lori), great-nephew, Christian Peterson, and his close pet friend, Little Cat.
Pa Nick had a longstanding love of relaxing fun on Sunday afternoons. He spent many afternoons taking his son, Alton fishing or golfing, and enjoying God’s creation in general. Other Sundays, he took Alton and Chad Kimbrough target practicing at an old rock quarry. As years went by, he began spending Sunday afternoons with his granddaughter, Amanda, teaching her to do all the same things he had taught Alton. He enjoyed rounding up the family for heated games of badminton, where the rules would often change and hitting someone in the head with the birdie was the ultimate win. In recent years, the activities changed, but Pa Nick’s enjoyment of family time never diminished. He loved for the family to gather and watch football at his house and is ultimately responsible for the Bulldogs winning back-to-back National Championships, because he sat in his “lucky spot” at all the right times. He loved birthday parties and card games with his great-grandchildren. Over the last decade, Pa Nick began writing stories and poems and illustrating his own birthday and Christmas cards for the family. It was his way of recalling stories of our time together, sometimes affectionate and sometimes humorous. Pa Nick was always cheering from the sidelines for his family, whether that meant sitting in the bleachers at a sporting event or checking in on an educational or career goal. He celebrated each victory as if it was his own and wrote about them in his cards so we would never forget the special days he shared with us.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Lafayette Christian School 1904 Hamilton Rd., Lagrange, Georgia 30241 or Operation Smile 3641 Faculty Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23453.
Cox Funeral Home - Hamilton, in charge of arrangements.