Stock brokerage chief was bullish on people

James Peterson of Shorewood left a career in engineering to become a stockbroker, then rose to become president and chairman of the former Dain, Kalman & Quail.

The St. Paul native died Dec. 29 in Minneapolis of complications from a stroke. He was 87.

"I found out I was more of a salesman than an engineer because I liked dealing with lots of people," Peterson said in a Sept. 14, 1956, Minneapolis Star article.

Before that discovery, the St. Paul Central High School graduate got an aeronautical engineering degree from the University of Minnesota in 1942. He was an Army Air Force engineer in World War II and later a civilian heading a guided-missile project.

"I got bored in the military, even with guided missiles," he said in 1956.

He returned to the university in 1948, earning a master's degree in business. In 1948, he began work at J.M. Dain & Co., now RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. He was named president of the investment firm in 1963 and chairman of the board in 1969.

He never forgot his roots and was generous to average investors, said his friend Kjell Bergh of Stillwater, whose businesses include Borton Volvo. Peterson befriended Bergh after he immigrated to the United States and was selling cars at Borton in 1967.

Bergh recalled that Peterson even helped his mechanics with their portfolios. "He was an unusually generous guy," said Bergh. "Everybody was important to him."

Lee Kopp, former longtime Dain broker, now chairman of Edina's Kopp Investment Advisers, said Peterson was a mentor to new brokers.

"Jim was as solid as oak, always there if you needed him," said Kopp.

In 1969, Peterson became president of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce and reached out to the broader community to learn what was needed for a good business environment, said former Dain public affairs chief Lars Carlson, brother of former Gov. Arne Carlson. He brought in a variety of speakers to educate chamber members about their community, probably for the first time.

"He brought a stronger level of understanding and compassion," said Carlson.

He wrote many articles for the Minneapolis Tribune, from book reviews to pieces about economics and the stock market. For 35 years, he kept a journal about his life and family, hunting, even the view from his window on Christmas Lake.

He was a "great communicator," said his son Gregg of Wayzata.

In addition to Gregg, he is survived by his wife of 58 years, Carolyn; son Doug of Kula, Hawaii; daughters Kate Burr of Dedham, Mass., and Linda Denman of Shorewood; a brother, Ralph of St. Paul, and seven grandchildren.