PRINCETON
James David Peters, Sr., of Princeton, died on February 5, 2023, of pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Deborah Cabral Peters, their children Courtney Peters-Manning and her husband Tomas Manning and James David (JD) Peters, Jr., and his wife Meghan Boswell Peters, grandsons Seamus Manning, Conor Manning,
Liam Peters, and Rory Peters, and his beloved Springer Spaniel, Tucker. He is also survived by the entire Cambridge School family.
Jim was born on August 20, 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was raised in Quincy, Mass., and met Deborah in 1963 when they were both 15 years old. Their great love story started that day and grew deeper every day until his death. His thirty-year career in business took the family through the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois, before moving to Princeton in 1995 to become the President & CEO of E&B Marine, and then Utrecht Art Supplies.
Jim and Deborah founded the Cambridge School in Pennington in 2001. Together, they changed the lives of countless children with dyslexia and other learning differences, giving them the opportunity to learn the way their brains work best and reach their full potential. Jim managed the school’s finances, while Deborah developed the curriculum and oversaw all of the academics. Though Jim was much more than that at the school. He was a constant presence in the hallways, even after he passed on the day-to-day running of the business office to his daughter Courtney. He was a mentor and friend to all of the students, especially the older boys, who often could be seen having lunch on the floor of his office, talking about sports and respect and life.
Jim was most proud, however, of his family. He was more than just a Husband, Dad and Grandpa. He was the best Husband, Dad and Grandpa. He spent countless hours throwing the ball around, playing hoops in the driveway, setting up trains and trucks and super heroes, captaining his boat with his co-captain grandsons, and listening. He will be profoundly missed.
A funeral mass was celebrated at St. James Church in Pennington, New Jersey,
on Thursday, February 9th at 10am. Viewing was at Wilson Apple Funeral Home, 2560 Pennington Road, Pennington, NJ, on Wednesday, February 8th from 4-7pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to HomeFront or the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.