Peter Osgood Wilde, 87, died peacefully on July 12, 2026, surrounded by his family.
Peter grew up in the picturesque town of Lee, Massachusetts on High Lawn Farm, where the family’s Jersey cows still produce the milk sold there today. As a teen, Peter tended to the farm and worked as a milkman. After graduating from Lenox School, Peter headed east to Boston, where he earned both his BA and MBA from Harvard University and Harvard Business School.
A serial entrepreneur, Peter owned and managed businesses spanning real estate development, laundromats, and manufacturing. He served as President of Tuftane Extrusion Technologies from 1998 until his retirement in 2009. He was also proud to serve as an Independent Director of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. for 33 years.
Peter and his wife, Sally, were longtime residents of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and spent much time in Nonquitt on the South Coast, where his favorite spot was on the back porch looking over the marsh toward the bay. There he served as Treasurer of the community and founded the beloved “Senior Varsity” golf group.
Peter's greatest accomplishments were never measured by titles or business success. They were found in the communities he built, the traditions he cherished, and the friendships he nurtured over a lifetime. After graduating from college, he never missed a Harvard football game—or a tailgate. For 50 years, he played nickel poker and never lost more than a dollar at a time. His athletic pursuits tended toward those with no winners or losers, just friends. Weekly tennis doubles lasted until his knees gave out. He valued his years with The Chestnuts, The Rats, and as a governor of The Country Club.
Peter was an enthusiastic traveler who marked every country he visited with a pin on a world map and documented each trip with stacks of photographs. He and Sally enjoyed many annual bike trips and other adventures with friends. At home, he indulged a lifelong fascination with trains, creating intricate model railroads complete with farms, towns, and a switching station that delighted his grandchildren. Peter’s wry sense of humor, kind heart, and grounding presence will be greatly missed.
Peter is survived by his wife, Sally, of 61 years; son Peter Jr. (Kendra); and daughter Victoria (Peter Jette); grandchildren George, Charlie, and Henry Wilde; James, Zach, and Sadie Jette; and sisters Nancy Hahn and Alice Field. He was preceded in death by his parents, Col. H. George Wilde and Marjorie Field Wilde, sisters Mary Carswell and Lila Berle, and brother Bill Wilde.
A celebration of Peter’s life will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.