Peter Van Inwegen

Peter Van Inwegen was born on September 30, 1940, in Rockville Centre, Hempstead, Long Island, NY to Charles F. Van Inwegen and Sarah J. Woolman. His family roots reached deep into early colonial America, bringing together Dutch, Quaker, Puritan, Huguenot, and Walloon ancestry, with some of his ancestors arriving aboard the first colonist ships to New Amsterdam (NYC) in 1624.

He grew up in Brooklyn and northern New Jersey before his family moved to Crystal Lake, Illinois, where he finished high school and competed in wrestling and football. He went on to attend the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he was a member of ATO fraternity, graduating in 1962 with a BS in Business Administration. During a semester “abroad” at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, he met his future wife, Karen L. Benz (mother of sons Gregory and Cornelius).

After graduating, he began a long career with General Electric, working first in Utica and Schenectady, NY, and later in San Jose, CA. Outside of work, Pete was a great adventurer. His appetite for the outdoors was quenched with frequent backpacking, skiing and sailing trips with family and friends. In 1969, he embarked on his greatest adventure: sailing across the South Pacific. Over the course of a year, he and four other souls sailed from San Diego to Sydney, Australia. He served as the boat’s navigator, charting their way across thousands of miles of open ocean using a sextant and the sun, moon, and stars to guide their course.

He married Judith Evans Schwank in 1976 and welcomed step-daughter, Barbara Ann into his family. After retiring from General Electric, he turned his lifelong love of sailing into a new chapter, purchasing Mariner Boat Yard in Alameda, CA. He ran the boatyard for many years before fully retiring with Judy to their beloved home in the Sonoma Mountains in Penngrove, CA. He loved the view of the Sonoma Valley, watching the turkeys and deer graze over the property and kept a garden for many years.

His brother, Cornelius Van Inwegen, predeceased him last year. He is survived by Judy, his wife of fifty years; his two sons, Gregory and Cornelius; his stepdaughter Barbara, six grandchildren, Brian, Emma, Alexandra, Grant, Hanna and Mia; and two great-granddaughters, Penelope and Amelia.

He was a warm, humble man, and a great storyteller with an infectious laugh. He had a playful sense of humor and a license to officiate marriages in the State of California. Above all, he could always be counted on to show up for the important moments in his family’s lives. He will be deeply missed by all those whose lives he touched with his quiet friendship and love."