Peter W. Halbert

Peter William Halbert, age 89, passed away peacefully at home in Great Falls, Virginia, on September 22, 2025.

Pete was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, to Peter John and Carmella Marie (nee Petroccione) Halbert. He graduated from Bloom High School in 1954, having served as class president, valedictorian, and National Honor Society member. Awarded a full scholarship to Columbia University, he undertook a 5-year program and earned his master’s degree in chemical engineering in 1959.

Upon graduation, Pete launched his long career in computing, information systems, and management by accepting a position as an applications engineer at Electronic Associates Inc. in Princeton, NJ. His role there grew to encompass simulation and engineering projects for the government and Fortune 500 companies, punctuated most notably by work on NASA’s Apollo 11 moon landing. Next, Pete co-founded Management Decisions, Inc, to market computer-based services to insurance companies. In 1971, Pete joined Mobil Oil, where he spent twenty-five years until his retirement in 1996. During his long and successful time at Mobil, he held executive roles across a wide range of departments, including corporate banking, consulting, asset management, and information systems.

In his early days in Princeton, Pete met and fell in love with Elizabeth “Jill” Stokes, a nursing student at Mercer Hospital School of Nursing. They married in 1962 and settled in Skillman, NJ, where they raised their two children – Douglas and Amanda. Over time, Pete’s job relocated them to the UK, Lake Forest, IL, New Canaan, CT, and finally Great Falls, VA, where they lived for over 30 years.

Pete’s personal interests were as varied as his professional career. He and Jill loved to travel, and they made numerous trips abroad. He acquired a passion for, and deep knowledge of, wine. He was a skilled investment manager, cultivated exotic hot peppers, and became an expert at repelling deer from his prized landscaping. His passion for woodworking saw the construction of a woodshop he painstakingly designed and built himself. His works included, among many, the detailed reconstruction of a master-carpenter’s corner cabinet, the design and construction of a wine cellar with intricate racking, and a modern cedar-slatted chair he made with his son. In

later years, as Jill suffered from a rare neurological disease, Pete dedicated himself to her care until her death in 2021.

A perfectionist, gifted critical thinker, and patient listener, Pete had a subtle sense of humor, an innate intellectual curiosity, and a deep love of family. In his own life’s assessment, he considered his marriage, children, and grandchildren to be his greatest sources of pride. He will be greatly missed by all of them.

Peter is preceded in death by his wife, Jill, and his brothers Donald and Raymond. He is survived by his children Douglas (Catherine), Amanda (Reid), and four grandchildren — Declan, Caroline, Julia, and Louise.

A private memorial service is planned. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society in Pete’s memory.        https://www.cancer.org/