Leon S. Peters was a businessman, licensed engineer, and philanthropist in California's

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

. Peters was born in 1905 in the city of Fowler, California to Samuel and Lily Peters who were Armenian immigrants from

Bitlis Bitlis ( hy, Բաղեշ '; ku, Bidlîs; ota, بتليس) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The city is located at an elevation of 1,545 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis R ...

. Between 1926 and 1929 Peters worked for his uncle's grape packing business where he would be recruited as a salesman for Valley Foundry and Machine Works. In 1940 Peters purchased the company from its owners. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Peters became the president of the Central California War Industries company which was later awarded the Army-Navy E award. After the war he continued his role in manufacturing as President of Valley Foundry and Machine Works and became known for helping raise money for the expansion California State University, Fresno and the Community Medical Center. Known for being active in the local community Peters was a member of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce,

Masons Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutt ...

, and Rotary; in 1955 he founded the Leon S Peters Foundation.

Honorary degrees

In 1996 Leon Peters was posthumously awarded an honorary doctorate from California State University, Fresno.

San Joaquin College of Law San Joaquin College of Law (SJCL) is a private law school in Clovis, California. History SJCL was founded in Fresno in 1969 by Fresno County Municipal Court Judge Dan Eymann, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger, and attorney John Loomis. T ...

awarded an honorary

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Leon S. Ethnic Armenian businesspeople 1905 births 1983 deaths People from Fresno County, California American Freemasons