||| SUN DAYS ON ORCAS by EDEE KULPER |||

San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter

We are all familiar with the name Eric Peter, as well as his face on signs in windows and along the road when he was running for San Juan County Sheriff. Upon winning the election, he said: “When I decided to take on this campaign, I promised myself that I would just be me and continue to be genuine, authentic, high effort, and focus on positivity regardless of the outcome of the election. This will continue to be my mentality going forward and you will be hard pressed to find someone more excited, enthusiastic, and passionate about serving our community than I am.”

Here is a window into Eric, not only as our new Sheriff, but as a human being…

  1. My father was born in Hungary during World War II and immigrated to America in 1951 when he was 9 years old.
  2. My mother grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she studied to become a nun before she met my father. She decided not to take her last set of vows, and they married in 1970.
  3. I was born just outside of Cleveland, Ohio, where my father and grandparents settled when they came to America, and we moved to Houston, Texas, when I was 6 years old.
  4. I have one sister, Tricia, who is amazing, and she lives just outside of San Antonio, Texas.
  5. My wife, Jennifer, and I met when we were 6 and 7 years old, and my mother was her and my sister’s Brownie and Girl Scout leader.
  6. My wife and I grew up together and went to rival high schools. I graduated from Cy-Fair High School in 1989.
  7. I joined the U.S. Army after high school, was stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and am a Desert Storm Veteran.
  8. My father passed away suddenly at age 48 while I was deployed in the Middle East.
  9. My wife and I were married in June of 1991 at 18 and 19 years old, and have been married for almost 32 years.
  10. We have two children, Ryan, 31, and Rebecca, 24, who both live in Friday Harbor.
  11. I joined the Houston Police Department in 1995, where I worked for 22 years until my retirement in 2017.
  12. We visited beautiful San Juan County for 10 years prior to moving here in 2017.
  13. I used to bake and decorate cakes as a hobby and a stress release.
  14. I started working with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in March of 2017 as a Patrol Deputy on Orcas for 6 months, then as a Deputy on San Juan Island. I was the patrol Sergeant on San Juan Island from March of 2018 until I was elected Sheriff.
  15. I LOVE to BBQ and cook meat on our Traeger Smoker.
  16. I am a certified Patrol Tactics Instructor with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.
  17. I love to watch professional and college football. (Go Seahawks!)
  18. My wife and I love dogs and have two “Chi-Wieners,” Buster and Greta (Buster we rescued in Houston and Greta we rescued here in Friday Harbor).
  19. I like comedy and Marvel movies.
  20. While I like an assortment of music, my wife and I are big fans of ’80s and ’90s country music.
  21. We love to travel and have visited Canada, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Cancun, Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Maui.
  22. I am passionate about being involved in trainings with other law enforcement professionals involving communication, de-escalation, and emotional intelligence.
  23. I received 22 commendations and two Chief of Police Unit citations during my career with Houston PD.
  24. I am proud to be a member of American Legion Post 163.
  25.  I got my first tattoo at age 46. (I now have four, with more planned in the future.)
    26. I start each day by telling myself three things that I’m grateful for that day.
  26. My wife, Jenny, is my best friend, my favorite person in the world, and the love of my life. Nothing I have accomplished would’ve been possible without her never-ending love and support. I am grateful for so many things in my life, but I will always be most grateful for you, Jenny.
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