Obituary: Gregory B. Peters, 1945-2024 

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• Courtesy
• Gregory Peters

Greg was born on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1945, in Boston, Mass., to Ruth and Philip Peters. He grew up in Wellesley, Mass., with his older brother, Philip, and younger brother, Jeffrey, enjoying close-knit family celebrations that included cousins, aunts and uncles, who all lived nearby. Greg’s maternal grandmother lived and traveled with his family for her last 15 years, adding more love and family values to the mix. They built a modest mountain ski home in Jackson, N.H., in 1956, which became the family sanctuary and gathering space for family and friends and was where many memories were made, including Greg’s marriage to Diane Parker (also from Wellesley) on the deck he built overlooking Mount Washington, on a fall day in 1977.

Greg graduated from Wellesley High School and, in 1967, from Harvard University, where, in addition to studying European history, he excelled in Alpine ski racing and baseball. From 1967 to 1969, Greg served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Germany. Returning to the States, he earned his MBA in 1972 from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He worked in New York City and in Europe before being lured to Vermont to take on marketing for Rossignol Skis. In Shelburne, he and Diane put down roots, started a family and joined a community of treasured lifelong friends. He moved briefly to North Andover, Mass., where he gained more treasured friends, to work for Investments Orange Nassau, a Boston-based venture capital firm. In 1986, he returned to Vermont to start his own venture capital firm, North Atlantic Capital, with business partner David Coit from Portland, Maine. Together they built a venture capital management company raising funds and providing capital to growth-oriented, privately owned companies, principally in the Northeast. Their early risks and determination resulted in some of today’s most successful Vermont brands, including Westminster Cracker, Earth’s Best Baby Food and Casella Waste Systems.

Not one to sit still, Greg dedicated his second career to making a difference in Vermont health care reform. He chaired the Public Oversight Commission for the State of Vermont, served on the early Green Mountain Care Board and contributed to the Vermont Blueprint for Health initiative.

Besides chocolate, Greg’s passion was sports. A participant, competitor, coach, spectator and TV fan, he loved baseball, tennis, skiing, golf, paddle, football and basketball. He always showed up and was never the guy who canceled! He played golf in windy rain, skied on ice and begged the tennis courts to stay open in inclement weather. His favorite pastime was enjoying sports with his family: coaching Shelburne Little League, teaching his children to ski and supporting them on the race hill at Mount Mansfield Ski Club. In addition to helping move the only community paddle tennis court from behind the old Sirloin Saloon to the Burlington Tennis Club, he tried to make a difference by lending his guidance and perspective to the boards of the Burlington Tennis Club and the Burlington Country Club.

Greg’s quiet, fair advice and leadership were sought by community boards and educational campaigns, including United Way of Chittenden County, Burlington Rotary Club (of which he was a past president), Shelburne Farms, Vermont Public Radio, Middlebury College and Harvard Business School. His entrepreneurial spirit was awakened when Bread & Butter Farm literally became his neighbor. He gave them his financial support as well as his patronage.

Greg was constantly active, fun, and very present for his family and friends, sharing his quiet strength, integrity and love. He was a kind, true gentleman known for his endearing hugs. In his later years, he found great joy in being a part of his granddaughters’ everyday lives.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 46 years, Diane Parker Peters; their children, Andy Peters and Faith Peters James (John); their grandchildren, Addison and Hadleigh; his older brother, Philip Peters (Tamie); his sister-in-law Cici Peters; and many loving nieces and nephews dear to his heart. He was predeceased by his parents, Ruth and Phil; his younger brother, Jeffrey; and Andy’s partner, Lester Gribetz.

A celebration of life for Gregory Peters will be held on May 10, 2024, 11 a.m., at Charlotte Congregational Church in Vermont. A reception will follow. Friends and family from near and far are invited to join in honoring his memory.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to Shelburne Farms or Bread & Butter Farm in Shelburne in memory of Gregory B. Peters.