Written by his son Oliver Peters and daughter in law Kim Marie Fischer Peters for his memorial. This was not published in a newspaper.

Klaus Hans Friedrich Peters was born in Stolpmunde, Stolp, Pommern, Germany on March 24, 1924. His parents were Eduard Hermann Peters (born 15 December 1885) and Erna Minna Ernstine Thom (born 31 July 1893).

At the age of 17 Klaus was called to serve in the German military and was trained to be a bomber navigator in the Luftwaffe. He served in this capacity until the military ran out of fuel and they were no longer able to fly.

Klaus met his wife to be, Dorothea Schneider, as she and her friend Gertrude Gruber were fleeing the advancing Russian army in Czechoslovakia. As they walked through the countryside on their way back home to Germany, the girls encountered a troop convoy. Dorothea was immediately drawn to Klaus as he looked very much like a well-known German movie star Carl Raddatz. She also was impressed that he had a small box with soap, washcloth, toothpaste and a toothbrush - luxuries for Germans in the later years of the war.

Klaus was not able to return home to Stolpmunde after the war as Pommern was given to Poland. He searched for his parents who, like himself, were now refugees having left their home and their possessions behind. Klaus could not stop thinking about Dorothea and was finally able to locate her friend Gertrude Gruber in Wuppertal, Germany. Through Gertrude, he found Dorothea living with her family in St. Goarshausen am Rhein. They married on June 3, 1950 and lived with Dorothea's parents in St. Goarshausen on the Rhine River in Germany.

After the war, Klaus worked for the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Frankfurt, Germany. Through his work he was befriended by US Army Major Arnet Hennings who sponsored Klaus, Dorothea and their young son, Oliver, so they could come to the United States. The family began their life in the United States in the rural town of Umatilla, Florida, referred to by Dorothea as the "end of the earth."

With the English he had learned in school and working with the Army Corps of Engineers, Klaus went back to school earning his GED. He worked at the W. M. Igou Appliance Store in Eustis for many years. He studied electronics and eventually operated his own television and radio repair business out of his home in Eustis, Florida.

Klaus and Dorothea loved to travel and did so into their early 80s. They traveled many times to Europe, to Canada, and around the entire United States including Alaska. They traveled annually to see the "leaves change" along the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Shenandoah Valley and even all the way to New Hampshire. They spent time with friends in Daytona and Ormond Beach and area springs.

Dorothea died on September 24, 2012 and Klaus lost his best friend and his zest for life. The two were reunited on March 7, 2015 when Klaus took his last and greatest journey. Klaus died peacefully in his sleep at 10:16 a.m. and will be buried next to his beloved "Thea" in Lakeside Memory Gardens in Eustis, Florida.

Anyone wishing to make a donation in his memory should send it to Faith Lutheran Church, 2727 S. Grove Street, Eustis, Florida 32726.

Photos in order of appearance below: Klaus in the arms of his mother, Erna Thom Peters, in Stolpmunde, 1924; Dorothea and Klaus on their wedding day (Church wedding, June 4, 1950); Dorothea and Klaus on their wedding day (Courthouse wedding, June 3, 1950); Klaus' German passport 1955 to prepare to immigrate to America in 1956; 1962 American Passport - Dorothea, Oliver, Klaus - first trip back to Germany; 60th Wedding Anniversary Klaus and Dorothea; Three Generations: Klaus, Christopher, Oliver in Birmingham, AL circa 1983; Christmas trip to Williamsburg: Dorothea and Klaus on Amtrak; March 24, 2014 - Klaus' 90th birthday; May 1982 - Christopher's Baptism, Mandarin, Florida: Christopher, Dorothea, Klaus.

PDF Documents: Brief history of Klaus Peters; Ahnenpass of Klaus Peters; List of items donated to Wallbuilders.com history center, Aledo, Texas; Peters/Schneider family book - legal documents; The Libretto newsletter announcing $1000 scholarship in the name of Klaus and Dorothea; image of the announcement in The Libretto.