Lt. Col. (R) Jon Petersen

There isn’t much our dad can’t do. He grew up in Charleston, West Virginia, and started taking piano lessons at age seven. He loves playing music and has played various instruments throughout his life including saxophone, guitar, and bass. Another lifelong passion is aviation. His dad, Dan Petersen, taught him how to fly and they both earned their flight instructors ratings together. Dad is still a very active pilot loves to fly anywhere there is food at the destination! Our dad joined the Air Force in 1983 and two years later married the lovely Karen. He served on active duty for over 23 years and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2007. While in the Air Force, the Lord placed a calling on his heart to pursue medicine. He went to medical school midway through his career and completed a residency in Family Medicine. After residency, he attended the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine to train as a flight surgeon for the Special Forces. Following that he did a second residency in Preventive Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and received his Masters in Public Health and became board certified in Occupational Medicine. (We told you, the man has done it all). When he retired from the military he wanted to find a place that would keep our family together. For a veteran that loves the Lord, his family, and music, you just can’t beat Branson, Missouri. He currently plays piano in our Wednesday gospel shows and usually attends our other shows to hang out with all of you! It was his dream that started this family band and we are so thankful for the amazing man and leader he is. His favorite song is an original we wrote as teenagers called My Daddy’s Got A Gun. If you see him at the show, you should ask him about it and what his favorite moments are scaring off boys from his girls…….