The ‘littlest big man'

Oct. 17, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

WILLOW -When he was 10 years old, Donny Peterson usually could found be tearing apart motorcycles, and he and his friend Ted West were &#8220just about the coolest dudes in town.”

Peterson died Oct. 9 in Willow, in a heavy equipment accident.

Peterson left Roscommon, Mich., for Willow in 1997, with his brother, Ken Pray. In the 11 years he lived here, Peterson never left and never wanted to leave, said Lari West, who knew him since childhood and who married

Peterson's friend. Peterson and Ted West, who also moved to Alaska from Michigan, would spend hours in the garage as they got older, working on anything with an engine, Lari West said.

&#8220They built chopper bikes and rode them around town,” she said.

&#8220And after they came to Alaska, they would tear their sleds apart and redo them, even when nothing was wrong with them.”

They were working together the day Peterson died, said Peggy Steiger, Peterson's sister.

Ted West was teaching Peterson how to run heavy equipment, Steiger said. That Monday, Ted West was running a grader, and Peterson was on a compactor, traveling behind West to level the ground, she said.

&#8220They passed each other about every 10 minutes or so,” she said. &#8220When Ted didn't see Donny for about 20 minutes, he went looking for him and saw the compactor in its side.”

Donny Peterson, who may have weighed 90 pounds and stood 4-feet, 11-inches tall, was underneath the

compactor. Ted West tried to lift it off, Steiger said, but he couldn't. West called 911.

Alaska State Troopers arrived at the accident site on Preston Avenue, off Schrock Road about 1:45 p.m., according to a trooper report.

Peterson was partially ejected from the compactor he drove, and crushed as it rolled down a steep embankment, the report said.

Ted West lost a lifelong friend when Peterson died, and Lari West said the man they called &#8220Little Donny” knew her husband very well.

&#8220They were loner people,” Lari West said. &#8220It really amazed me how they were so different when it came to each other.”

When they all were kids in Michigan, everyone in town knew when they got hungry they could to Peterson's house for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, she said.

&#8220Up to the day we lost our Little Don, he loved his peanut butter and jelly, no matter what,” she said.

Peterson's friends and family all said the small man had a huge heart, and a true Alaska spirit.

&#8220Donny's heart was as big as Alaska,” Steiger said. &#8220Whenever Ken needed a worker, Donny was there.”

Steiger still lives in Michigan, but she came up to Willow for her brother's memorial service.

&#8220I've heard nothing but good about him,” Steiger said.

&#8220He helped everybody. He was soft-spoken, kind hearted and loved his snowmachines and privacy.”

Peterson loved to fish, but would only eat Alaska halibut, said Loren Browne, another of Peterson's friends.

Peterson lived at Browne's place for a while, and worked for him from time to time. Peterson especially liked fishing on Kashwitna Lake, a place where his friends planned to spread his ashes, he said.

Peterson loved to drive four-wheelers, and he enjoyed all kinds of music, Browne said.

&#8220He had a heart of gold and he did handyman jobs for older people,” Browne said. &#8220Anytime anything needed doing, he was the first one to jump up and say, ‘Let's get it done.'”

When Peterson and his brother arrived in the Big Lake and Willow areas, Peterson worked building log houses, Steiger said.

He would do anything he could to pay his way, Browne said, including working as a dishwasher at the Roadside Cafe last winter.

Peterson may not have liked everyone, but Browne said he never heard Little Donny say a bad word about anyone.

A few months ago, Peterson mentioned that if anything ever happened to him, his beloved dog, Crackers, should go to live with a certain friend, Browne said.

&#8220It's kind of weird,” he said. &#8220Sometimes it's funny what hear what people say, like they know.”

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.