Richard A. Peterson; Electronics Technician

Richard A. Peterson, a longtime Oxnard resident and electronics technician at Point Mugu Navy Base, died Friday of cancer. He was 68.

Born Feb. 5, 1927, Peterson moved with his family to Oxnard when he was 16 and graduated from Oxnard High School.

Except for two years he spent in the Philippines during World War II and frequent trips to Mexico, he has lived in Ventura County for nearly his whole life.

When he was 17, Peterson joined the Navy and was stationed in the Philippines, where he served on an amphibian landing craft. He stayed in the Navy until 1951, when he settled in Port Hueneme. He worked there as a police officer for three years.

In 1955, he began work as an electronics technician at Point Mugu.

In his spare time, Peterson enjoyed traveling to Mexico. While on vacation there with a friend he met his second wife, Mercedes. The couple were married in 1961.

The couple spent about three months a year in Mexico, where they owned a 180-acre cattle ranch.

Peterson was well-known to many Oxnard residents who frequented Sal’s Mexican Inn. After retiring in the late 1980s, Peterson began helping out at the restaurant--often as a bartender--while his wife worked as a waitress.

Peterson is survived by his wife; a daughter, Shelley Ann Zito of Ventura; and a sister, Lee Moritz of Virginia Beach, Va.

Services will be Monday night under the direction of Garcia Mortuary in Oxnard.

Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.