Jon Richard Peterson was born in 1931 in Jamestown, New York, to Doris M. and Harold C. Peterson. He graduated from Jamestown High School in 1948 and went on to study at Jamestown Community College for two years, laying the foundation for a life filled with curiosity and achievement.

In 1951, Jon enlisted in the United States Army, where he completed a year of training before being stationed in Germany as an artillery officer. After finishing his active-duty service in 1954, Jon continued to serve in the Army Reserve until 1974, eventually reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Following his time in the military, Jon attended the University of Minnesota and earned a degree in geophysics in 1958. While studying, he met Joan Halvorson at the University Hospital, where Joan was the head nurse and Jon worked as a part-time orderly. Their paths crossed in the busy halls of the hospital, and they married in 1959 in Joan's hometown of Bricelyn, Minnesota.

Jon began his career at the U.S. Bureau of Mines Applied Physics Laboratory, where he helped develop creative ways to measure stress in mine walls. In 1960, he moved to the Seismology Branch of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in Washington, D.C., diving into the installation of the World-Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN), a groundbreaking project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The WWSSN, and the ongoing efforts to upgrade and expand the global network, became the centerpiece of Jon's government service.

He spent a year training technicians for WWSSN installations and another overseeing equipment assembly in Garland, Texas. In 1962, Jon relocated to the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory, which became the hub for the worldwide network.

In 1966, Jon was named Chief of the Laboratory. During his tenure, and later as Chief Scientist, he guided the completion of WWSSN deployment, managed aftershock studies and data collection projects, established tsunami warning networks in Alaska and Hawaii, and oversaw upgrades to stations with digital recorders and borehole seismometers. Jon also led the construction of a seismic array in Iran and negotiated agreements for seismic network installations in China and Eastern Russia. His partnership with the National Science Foundation's IRIS program helped transform the Global Seismograph Network, which remains a vital resource for seismic monitoring and research.

Jon wrote numerous technical reports and created a widely referenced model of the Earth's seismic background noise. He served on interagency committees and advised panels of the National Academy of Sciences. An active member of the American Geophysical Union and the Seismological Society of America, Jon was honored in 1992 with honorary membership in the Seismological Society of America for his lasting impact on global seismograph networks.

Jon's work took him all over the world including China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and many more, where he built collaborations and friendships that lasted a lifetime. Together with Joan, he welcomed countless visitors from abroad, hosting lively gatherings and dinners at their Albuquerque home.

After retiring, Jon continued to nurture his interest in nature, plants, and environmental causes. He was an avid hiker and created a photo catalog of more than 150 lichen species found in the Sandia Mountains. Jon was predeceased by his beloved wife Joan, and is survived by his daughters, Kristin Peterson and partner Mark Summer (Arques, France and Watamu, Nairobi, Kenya) and Kara Peterson and husband Dion Gallant (Cedar Crest, New Mexico), as well as his granddaughter Sophia Gallant and grandson Theodore Gallant.