The Rev. Stephen Peterson was born on the family farm in Cass county, Michigan. When he was only three, his mother died and he was raised by his uncle and his wife, Homer and Josephine Stewart. He attended schools in Niles and Edwardsburg, Michigan, graduating from Niles High School. Four years later, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, majoring in political science.
An ROTC graduate, Stephen was called into the Korean conflict and served as a platoon leader and motor officer overseas. He returned to civilian life and worked for a year as a life insurance salesman, then entered Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
After graduation from seminary and ordination, he served as pastor of Presbyterian churches in Schoolcraft, Grand Rapids, and Cassopolis, Michigan. An active reserve officer, he was called back in the Army as a chaplain during the Vietnam conflict, remaining in the service until retirement. His army service included assignments in Virginia, New York, and Texas in the United States, and Korea, Germany, France, and Vietnam overseas. Since his army retirement, he served as pastor of Trinity Presbyterian church in Mckinney, Texas for six years, then becoming interim pastor of Presbyterian churches in Whitesboro and El Paso, Texas. He is now interim pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Rev. Peterson and his wife, Sandra, a public middle school teacher, live in El Paso, Texas. Together they have ten children and Stephen has eleven grandchildren.