CLARKESVILLE, Ga. — Long before Habitat for Humanity began building homes in Northeast Georgia, Father Gerald Joseph “Pete” Peterson was laying the foundation for a stronger, more caring community.
Father Peterson, former pastor of St. Mark Catholic Church in Clarkesville and a founding force behind Habitat for Humanity of Northeast Georgia and Habersham’s Sharing and Caring Place, died peacefully on May 13 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was 96.
To many, he was simply “Father Pete” — a priest whose faith was measured less by words than by actions.
Whether building homes, organizing community programs, visiting parishioners, or quietly helping those in need, Father Pete spent more than seven decades serving communities across the South before eventually retiring to a nursing home in Cincinnati, where he lived out his final days.
“If you asked him, he would say his life was a reward because he was happy in what he did and lived a joyful life,” said longtime friend Helen O’Brien.
A servant’s heart
Father Pete was a Glenmary Home Missioner who began his ministry in Virginia’s coalfields in 1952. He later served in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. He pastored a parish in Dahlonega and, for more than a decade, St. Mark.
Even after he retired, Father Pete continued to serve churches and parishioners. Compassion for the poor, a passion for justice, and a determination to meet people’s needs were simply “part of who he was,” said fellow Glenmarian Father Steven Pawelk. “He was kind of like the Good Samaritan.”
That servant’s heart helped shape two of Northeast Georgia’s most enduring nonprofits.
Father Pete was among a group of Clarkesville ministers who helped launch Sharing and Caring and Habitat in the early 1980s.
Concerned about the growing needs of struggling families, the ministers united across denominations to create a volunteer-driven outreach program providing food, clothing, and other assistance to local residents. Their vision became reality with the opening of The Sharing and Caring Place in Clarkesville in 1983. The following year, they opened a second location in Cornelia.
In 1985, that same coalition of ministers and churches organized the local Habitat affiliate. Among them was the Rev. Bo Turner, a Baptist minister whose association with Habitat founder Millard Fuller and former President Jimmy Carter sparked local interest in the organization. Knowing Father Pete’s talent for organizing people, Turner encouraged him to get involved from the start.
As the affiliate’s first president, Father Pete presided over its inaugural meeting, which Fuller attended. A year later, he stood at the groundbreaking for Habitat House No. 1.
Father Pete’s role was more than ceremonial. Habitat leaders credit him with building partnerships across Northeast Georgia, rallying churches, civic groups, volunteers, and donors around affordable housing. He helped launch early fundraising efforts such as the “1,000 Mile Walk for Habitat” and the “Run for Habitat,” organized the first Habitat Day in 1987, and helped open the affiliate’s first office.
Leading by example
For 25 years, Tom Gagnon served as lead carpenter for Habitat for Humanity of Northeast Georgia — a role he took at Father Pete’s urging.
“I’d never built a house all the way through before,” Gagnon recalled. “He said, ‘No problem, we have plenty of carpenters.'”
When construction began on Habitat’s first home in White County in 1986, Father Pete worked right alongside volunteers digging footers by hand. “He wasn’t averse to doing the physical labor even though he was pastoring two churches,” Gagnon said. “He came out to dig the footers and worked all morning.”
Gagnon recalls Father Pete working in the hot Georgia sun, a handkerchief covering his bald head.
“I was impressed by the sight of a pastor digging footers with a shovel,” he said.
Although willing to get his hands dirty, Father Pete’s friends say his greatest gift may have been his ability to bring people together. “He got parishioners involved, and he got things moving,” said O’Brien.
Known for turning ideas into action, Father Pete saw needs in the communities where he served and addressed them. Beyond Habitat and Sharing and Caring, he established a Dial-a-Bus transportation service, a day care center, dental and vision clinics, and a prenatal care program.
“He was always the final pusher,” Gagnon said. “Others deferred to him.”
Habitat for Humanity of Northeast Georgia has built 83 homes since that first house went up on Liberty Lane in Cleveland all those years ago. The nonprofit expects to complete its 84th and 85th homes by the end of this year.
For all his big accomplishments, Father Pete is equally remembered for his small acts of kindness.
“People would give him things and he would pass it on to someone who could use it,” Gagnon said. “He was always giving things away.”
His thrift became local legend. During his morning runs, Father Pete carried a bag with him to collect discarded aluminum cans. He redeemed them to raise money for Habitat.
“Everybody remembers Father Pete with a bag of aluminum cans,” Gagnon said with a laugh.
An enduring legacy
It’s been over 40 years, and local volunteers are still sharing needed resources and caring about their neighbors. Families are still moving into homes they never thought they could afford. All these decades later, Father Pete’s legacy continues to inspire hope across generations.
In a social media tribute following Father Pete’s death, Habitat Executive Director Brian Young wrote, “We want to let Father Pete know, as he looks down upon us from Heaven, just how much we appreciate all that he did for Habitat for Humanity of Northeast Georgia during the early years so that we could grow and become the affiliate we are today.”
“It is just one small reflection of a life that made a difference for decades,” said O’Brien.
“He lived a faithful life and was ready to go home to heaven at the end. He should not have had regrets; he certainly lived a beautiful life that was full in so many ways.”
Father Gerald Joseph Peterson obituary
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