Lynn Martin Peterson, 87, died at home in Lebanon, New Hampshire, on September 27, 2026, after a lifetime marked by ceaseless learning and service to others.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 7, 1939, Lynn was the oldest child of Frank Martin and Ann Dorothy (Engwall) Peterson. He graduated from Carl Schurz High School in 1957 and St Olaf College in 1961. At St Olaf, he completed graduation requirements in three years and was bound for medical school, but a scholarship enabled him to take an additional year to study poetry, literature and philosophy. This was the year, perhaps not so coincidentally, that he met and fell in love with his wife, Nancy.

Lynn and Nancy began married life in New York City, where Lynn attended Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. After graduating in 1965, they moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he trained in general surgery at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, with intervals spent at the National Institutes of Health and Boston Children’s Hospital.

After completing his residency, Lynn continued at the Brigham Hospital as a surgeon while also teaching students and conducting research at Harvard Medical School. In his medical practice, he became particularly interested in patient-centered care, including issues around doctor-patient relationships, informed consent and end-of-life care. He took two years away from surgery – a risky career move for the early 1980s – to study philosophy and ethics at Oxford University. Harvard then invited him to return as the first Director of their Division of Medical Ethics, where he helped build a program and create courses for medical students, faculty and practitioners. He continued practicing surgery, bringing professional ethics to the Brigham Hospital, organizing ethics services and consultations.

Lynn and Nancy raised two children, their daughter, Kathryn, and son, Matthew, as well as many dogs. They traveled all around Europe and made it to Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America. They delighted in the birth of their grandchildren and family reunions with Lynn’s brother’s and sister’s families.

Upon retirement in 2004, Lynn, of course, did not slow down. He and Nancy and their Bernese Mountain Dogs moved permanently to their second home in Woodstock, Vermont. There he worked with the community on projects devoted to local health care and forest preservation. He helped start Bookstock. He taught courses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. And he was an active member of the North Universalist Chapel Society and participated in the Rotary Club. He gardened, cross-country skied, snowshoed, and learned to play the violin and to cook, with a particular fixation on blueberry jam and any recipe that involved squash.

Even in his last years, after the loss of Nancy and with the downturn in his health, Lynn enjoyed the community at his new home at The Woodlands in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He always was as active as he could be, had a book at hand and never stopped trying to understand this world.

Lynn is predeceased by his wife of 57 years, Nancy, and his son, Matthew. He is survived by his daughter, Kathryn; his grandchildren, Freya and Kiran; and his brother, Phil, and sister, Kris.

A special thank you to the whole team at Christina’s Caregiving for their exceptionally kind and attentive care for Lynn over the last year and a half, as well as to Dartmouth Health Home Hospice Care for their wonderful support and guidance in his last weeks.

A memorial service is planned for 2:00 pm on Sunday, November 8th at the North Chapel, 7 Church St, Woodstock, VT. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the North Universalist Chapel Society in Lynn’s memory.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock, VT. An on-line guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.