Edgar Nattress Petersen

Edgar Nattress Petersen, 82, of Singer Island, Florida passed away in Copley, OH on May 10, 2021. He was born in 1938 in East London, South Africa to Doris and Edgar Petersen. Edgar retired from Diebold in 1997 after a successful career as an international sales and corporate executive in the banking and retail systems industry.

A beloved husband, father, grandfather and uncle. An innately curious storyteller, lifelong learner, and world traveler. An accomplished businessman who conquered worlds and left his family the legacy of a strong work ethic, discipline, and loyalty. He thrived in the company of friends and strangers, with humor and generosity. Throughout his life, he faced adversity with courage and determination.

After matriculating from St. Andrew’s Anglican School in Bloemfontein South Africa, Edgar attended the University of Orange Free State (UFS) where he studied Accounting, completing his articles as an auditor with Deane and Thresher in Bloemfontein. His first job in sales, as a banking specialist with NCR South Africa, led to him opening the Accounting Machine and Computer division for Namibia. Edgar considered those early years with NCR, traversing the desert in a Ford Zephyr with a trunk full of accounting machines, some of his most memorable moments in sales.

Edgar had an impressive 22-year career with NCR, that took him from Namibia, to South Africa as a Division Manager, on to NCR Canada as a Vice President, and ultimately to headquarters in Dayton, Ohio as the Assistant Vice President of NCR’s Asia Pacific Region.

In 1984, Edgar joined Diebold in North Canton as Vice President, to establish and manage their international markets for banking and security systems. He was named to the Boards of Diebold in Canada, South America and the Pacific regions and served on the advisory council for the International Business School at the University of Akron. He retired from Diebold in 1997.

The son of a jazz musician who was prominent in South Africa for his band “The Jazz Maniacs,” his sisters Therle and Glenda Petersen were well known in the ballet and modern dance community of South Africa, and Edgar found his talents in athletics, as a competitive diver, swimmer, field hockey and rugby player at school, and later in hockey, swimming and water polo at UFS. He was especially proud of his years as a sea cadet, a school program under the South African Navy, which led to his hobby as a competitive sailor. His enduring passion became golf - he had the opportunity to play many of the world’s top golf courses, and belonged to Firestone and Brookside Country Clubs in Akron and Canton, Ohio.

Edgar saw his most important role in life as a husband, father and grandfather. He cherished the time with his grandchildren. They will miss gathering lost golf balls on Rosemont Golf Course with him, riding the lawnmower on the 18th hole, his eager participation in all their sports, and his pride in their academic accomplishments.

He kept close touch with all his family across the hemispheres. He loved the ocean, and was most happy at the beach or gazing at the sea from their balcony. Val and Edgar made their home on Lake Cable in North Canton until they moved to Singer Island, FL after retirement. They maintained a summer home in Rosemont, Fairlawn and more recently at Searstone in Cary, NC.

His love of the ocean was surpassed only by his love for Valerie, his wife of 60 years; his children Leanne (Bob McCormick) of Copley, OH; Bradley (Christine) of Cary, NC; Lloyd (Julie Cooke) of Virginia Beach, VA; and his beloved grandchildren Tyler McCormick (Amelia), Abigail Petersen, Olivia and Sydney Petersen. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his sister Glenda Falconer. He is survived by his wife, and his sister Therle Nathan of Sandton, South Africa. He will be missed by a close extended family of sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews and their families.

A private family service has taken place at St. John's Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Edgar's name are suggested to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, www.michaeljfox.org/donate

Special thanks to the incredible nurses and staff of the Cleveland Clinic Justin T. Rogers Hospice Care Center in Copley, Ohio who cared for Edgar the past two months.

Services in care of The Billow Funeral Homes and Crematory, Fairlawn Chapel, 85 N. Miller Road  Akron, OH  44333.