Ocia Peters, Garden Grove Educator, Dies at 86

Memorial services will be held Sunday in Denver for Ocia Peters, former chief of the Garden Grove Elementary School District and an elementary school dropout who returned to class at age 30 and went on to lead the fight against de facto segregation in local schools.

Peters died Monday in Denver. He was 86.

School officials described Peters as a leader with vision who oversaw the post-World War II baby-boom years in the elementary district, a predecessor of the current Garden Grove Unified School District.

During his tenure as superintendent in 1948-65, Peters began extensive programs in music, art and services for handicapped students. In 1950, with the support of his board of education, Peters worked to eliminate de facto segregation in the system, a spokesman for the unified district said.

Peters was born in Texas and left school in the seventh grade, but returned to ninth grade at age 30. He ultimately received a bachelor’s degree in business education from the University of Redlands. He also performed graduate studies at Redlands, UCLA and San Jose State.

Peters began as a teacher in 1940 in Shafter, Kern County, then moved in 1942 to Garden Grove, where he was named principal of Fitz School, which operated in the building that today houses City Hall.

He was appointed superintendent of the Garden Grove Elementary School District in 1948 and continued in that post until the district merged with two adjoining districts to form the unified school system.

He is survived by his wife, Bernice; two sons, David and Maitland, and a daughter, Pamela Hughes.