Peter Kingston, Sr. passed away peacefully on December 8th, 2022, in Pasadena, CA, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
He was born on May 28, 1939, in Valparaiso, Chile, to John Carl Kingston and Janet Wilson Kingston. The second of five children, his early childhood years were spent on the family farm in Casablanca, Chile. He attended high school at Holderness School in Plymouth, New Hampshire, where he excelled in academics, cross-country running, and was elected president of the school in his senior year. He continued his education at Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology. At Princeton he was in the Cap and Gown Club, captain of the cross-country team in his senior year, and participated in Triangle Club where he made many memories.
After graduating from Princeton, he toured the U.S. with the Triangle Club before returning to Chile to manage the family farm. Peter served on active duty in the United States Navy as an air-intelligence officer from 1962 to 1965, achieving the rank of 1st Lieutenant. Following the completion of his military service, he attended Harvard University, where he earned his MBA.
In 1968, Peter began his professional business career as a management consultant with H. R. Land & Co in Los Angeles, California. It was there that he met the love of his life, Linda Dewitt. They married on March 15, 1969, at the Church of the Wayfarer in Carmel, California. They lived in Santa Monica, California, for several years before settling in San Marino, California, in 1973.
Peter’s professional dream was to own his own business, a dream that he fulfilled in 1985 when he acquired the aerospace product manufacturing company, Day-Ray Products Inc., in South Pasadena, California. With Linda by his side working in the company, together they took on the challenges and celebrated the successes of entrepreneurship. Peter’s leadership was monumental in the sustained growth of the company over the past 37 years, achieved through new product innovations and additional acquisitions.
Whenever asked to share his life’s greatest achievement, he’d answer proudly and succinctly that it was his family. The father of three children, he was always involved in the lives of his family and his community. Whether coaching AYSO soccer, serving as the President of San Marino Little League, working on San Marino High School’s grad night or serving as president of the South Pasadena chapter of Rotary, he always dedicated time to enriching the lives of his family and others.
Peter was preceded in death by his wife of forty-two years, Linda DeWitt Kingston, and his brother, C.J. Kingston. He is survived by his three children, Peter (Hilary), John (Allyson), and Katie (Ron); and his eight grandchildren, Ashlinn, Elise, Mary-Kate, Anna, Charles, Rosalind, Jack, and Scott. He is also survived by his brother Michael Kingston of Princeton, New Jersey, and his sisters Susan Kingston of Petaluma, California, and Sally Kingston Alliende of Santiago, Chile.
Peter’s life will be celebrated during a private family gathering.
