John Malcolm Peterson was born in 1921 in Hays, Ellis County, Kansas, growing up in Logan County and attending Page City High School. He attended the University of Kansas as a Summerfield Scholar and graduated in 1942 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business.

After serving in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942-1945, Peterson returned to KU for his master's degree in political science, which he earned in 1947. He moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the United States Treasury and Defense Departments, meeting Frances Bailey in the process.

Frances Bailey Peterson was born in Mansfield, Texas in 1917. She worked for the Treasury Department in Washington. She married John Peterson in 1952. They retired in 1974 and moved to rural Douglas County, Kansas, moving into the city of Lawrence in 1992.

John Peterson was heavily involved in local history and archaeology, volunteering for the Douglas County Historical Society and authoring several articles for the Kansas History Quarterly. He was a volunteer archivist and curator at the Watkins Community Museum of History. John Peterson also wrote a book about John G. Haskell, one of the University of Kansas' early architects.

Frances Peterson participated in many local organizations, including the Nature Conservancy, League of Women Voters, Zodiac Club and Watkins Community Museum of History. In their personal lives, the Petersons were avid gardeners and bird watchers. The two traveled the United States and the world extensively.

The Petersons moved to Cedar Hill, Texas in 2007. John Peterson died in 2009 and Frances died in 2012. Their will bequeathed a $1.2 million gift of farmland and cash to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Music, and the School of Dance at the University of Kansas.