Peter Frank Sperry of Glendale, Arizona, was a former resident of St. Ignace and a 1971 graduate of LaSalle High School, where he played varsity football. He was one of the founding members of Glen Memorial Baptist Church in St. Ignace and worked in the summers for Argosy Boat Line, which ferried passengers to Mackinac Island from the Treasure Island dock, now owned by Star Line.

Mr. Sperry passed away at the age of 52 Saturday, April 8, 2006, in Arizona.

He was born April 11, 1953, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Frank and Sydney (Rivenburg) Sperry. His father served in the United States Coast Guard, and while Mr. Sperry was a child, the family was stationed in St. Ignace, Alaska, and Baltimore, Maryland. While in Alaska, Mr. Sperry sometimes accompanied his father out on the Coast Guard buoy tender while it maintained lights and lighthouses on the Alaskan coastline.

While Mr. Sperry's father was stationed in St. Ignace, he attended McCann Elementary School and LaSalle High School.

Mr. Sperry continued his education at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, where he met Laurie Klaiss, and they became "college sweethearts." He proposed to her the day she was graduated from Central and they were married August 6, 1977.

Mr. Sperry worked on the ore freighters during the summers until he obtained a bachelor's degree and moved West. He worked in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Arizona, at 84 Lumber, Color Tile, and Walgreens Pharmacy. At Walgreens he became a head photography specialist, which his father said "was the perfect job for him, as he loved to take pictures and always seemed to have a camera with him."

He was active in his church, especially the Awana Clubs Ministry, where he served in various leadership positions for 14 years.

His father remembers "his gentle manner, sense of humor, and willingness to help others."

Mr. Sperry is survived by his wife, Laurie; their son, Timothy; his father, Frank Sperry of St. Ignace; his sister, Sydney Bridges of Albany, Georgia, and his sister, Susan Maple of Houston, Texas.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Sydney, and his brother, Jonathan, who drowned in the Straits of Mackinac as a child after falling from a ferry boat.

A memorial service was held Thursday, April 13, in Phoenix, Arizona. Interment will be at Resthaven Park Cemetery in Glendale, Arizona.