Fairfax Flags at Half-Staff for John Petersen

Longtime city resident, former council member and beloved professor John Petersen passed away at 71 last week. 

Petersen dedicated his life to his community. He moved to Fairfax City in 1966 and remained there until he died of a heart attack on April 4. During his time within the city limits Petersen served on city council, Economic Development Authority and taught public policy at George Mason University.

His students reacted to the loss with sadness and fond memories. Read some of their thoughts here.

"Dr. Petersen was a fine professor, warm and engaging colleague, and most important of all, enthusiastic about his students, SPP, and his field," wrote Susan Tolchin, a public policy professor at GMU. "He was widely-respected by economic experts both in the U.S. and abroad, and deeply beloved by his students."

Petersen moved around a bit in his early years. Born in 1940 in Lafayette, La., he spent time in Chicago, where he received a bacherlor's degree from Northwestern University. He traveled to the University of Pennsylvania to earn an M.B.A. in public finance and a Ph.D.

At Fairfax he served as president and division director for a financial research/advisory firm, Goverment Finance Group/ARD, as well as other Metropolitan-area research and advisory industry leaders. Petersen's career brought him to countries in Eastern Europe and Asia, where he worked with USAID, World Bank and Asian Development Bank. He shared his knowledge with a column on "Governing" magazine and sat on editorial boards for "Public Budgeting and Finance," "Municipal Finance Journal," "Public Works Management and Policy" and "MuniNet."

His son, Senator Chap Petersen, thanked neighbors and students for their support. Chap, his mother Mary, his sisters Mary Paul and Elizabeth, and their children are busy organizing John Petersen's life and mourning his passing.

"There’s a lot to do," Chap wrote on his blog. "He was a popular professor at GMU and very active in the Fairfax City community. He was my closest friend and best advisor.  He and my mother were married for almost fifty years and have lived in the same house in the City since 1966."

Petersen's funeral service will be held at on April 13 at 11 a.m. His internment is scheduled to be at the City of Fairfax Cemetary on Main Street after the service and reception.