Douglas Brent Petersen was born to Jay and Nancy Petersen on June 27th, 1957, in Salt Lake City and raised in what is now Cottonwood Heights Utah. Doug enjoyed an adventure filled youth that today sounds almost like a fairytale. He loved spending time in the mountains and canyons; enjoying the lakes, streams, and woods, and always held a love and respect for nature and animals. Most of all he loved people. His generous and amiable personality attracted many close friends from numerous walks of life and generations, whom he cherished his entire life. He invited them to accompany him on his continuing adventures, organizing multiple camping, fishing, hunting, hiking trips or relaxing and peaceful scenic vacations, from Alaska to Hawaii, from Israel to his own backyard. As he grew older his friendships continued to accumulate, and Doug naturally maintained his countless friendships his entire life, staying in touch by any and all means possible.

Doug graduated from Brighton High School in 1975. While there he excelled in wrestling and football and was granted an athletic scholarship to Utah State University. Through both his high school and university wrestling programs, Doug was able to travel multiple times to Japan. He put his academic and athletic career on hold to serve a 2-year mission from 1976 to 1978 for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the California, Arcadia Mission. There he collected more friends, sharing his love of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and his warmhearted personality. After returning from his mission, he transferred to Brigham Young University, pursuing a major in Business Management and was a member of the WAC Championship wrestling team of 1978-1979.

In 1979 he began dating the love of his life Cathy Diane Young. They enjoyed a storybook romance, quickly and deeply falling in love with each other. After six months of courtship, they were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple on August 23, 1979. All who met them never doubted the profound and endless love they hold for one another; an indestructible love fortified by their mutual qualities of respect, compassion, sacrifice, faith, patience, and devotion.

Their abiding love eventually brought five children into the world: Brennen, Preston, Dallin, Tanner, and Maelyn. Doug loved fatherhood and filled his children’s lives with laughter and joy. Nothing made him happier than watching his children grow, develop, and succeed. He selflessly sacrificed his time, money, and comfort to ensure that they could pursue their unique passions and opportunities of their choosing. He cherished being a grandfather to each of his 7 beautiful grandchildren, and loved spending every minute he could with them as an active and fun grandpa.

In 1982 Doug founded his own business Universal Signs, which he successfully ran for over 40 years. His affable personality made him a natural salesman, and he established a robust clientele creating all kinds of signs including the decals for the Hubble Space Telescope, signage for multiple movie productions, and Utah’s sports teams to name a few.

Doug began his City Council term for Cottonwood Heights in January of 2020 representing District 1. He absolutely loved his opportunity to participate in public service in the city where he grew up and raised his family. He took his responsibility very seriously and spent countless hours talking with his constituents and researching how best to improve the quality of life for the community he passionately represented. Doug treasured the relationships he formed while serving his term.

Doug passed away on April 20th, 2023, after a brief battle with a cancer. He is survived by his beloved wife Cathy, his children Brennen (Ashleigh), Preston, Dallin (Cami), Tanner (Alyssa), Maelyn (Kevin), his seven grandchildren Caleb, Luke, Evan, Quinn, Owen, Jace, and Beckham, his parents Jay and Nancy, brothers Steve (Stacie), David (Laurie), John (Tammy), Brett (Annie), sisters Kathy (Ray) Nerdin, Robyn Hintze, Jill Gibson, Jamie (Jared) Adams, numerous in-laws, and many nieces, nephews. He is preceded in death by brothers Mike Petersen and Scott Petersen and brother-in-law Mark Hintze.

Funeral services will be held at the Cottonwood Creek Stake Center located at 1535 Creek Road, Sandy, Utah at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 29, 2023. There will be a visitation Friday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the stake center, and from 9:30 to 10:30 AM on Saturday, prior to the service. His interment will be at the Mountain View Cemetery at 3115 Bengal Blvd, Cottonwood Heights.

For those unable to attend, services will be streamed via Zoom. Please visit Doug’s obituary page at www.larkinmortuary.com for information on streaming and to share memories. Memories and stories can also be shared with the family on the voice mailbox at 801-810-4621.