Minneapolis, MN - Peter Quale passed away Monday, December 22, following a beautiful 56-year life and an 18-month battle with gastric cancer.

He was born February 6, 1969, at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. The first years of his life were spent moving around the country for his father's medical and military career - to Dallas, TX, Huntsville, AL, Wichita, KS, and Denver, CO. His mom showed him how to be a fantastic cook and how to hunt for morel mushrooms; his dad taught him about cars and Cheap Trick. Their tradition of renting a house on Green Lake every summer provided some of his favorite family memories.

He spent the bulk of his childhood in Sioux Falls, SD, where he built a loyal and mischievous friend group and where he met his future wife, Michelle Woster. He graduated from the University of Kansas-Lawrence in 1992 with a bachelor's degree and another group of loyal and mischievous friends. Their support of him in his cancer journey was steadfast.

Peter had a joyful career in digital marketing and digital accessibility. He stumbled into that work in Chapel Hill, NC, while Michelle was pursuing a master's degree. He took an office job at the dental school. The internet was brand new, and his boss sent him to a class to learn a program called HTML. He ended up building the first webpage for the UNC School of Dentistry, something he would later do for free for multiple nonprofit organizations. After returning to Minneapolis, he jumped feet first into the dot.com scene, continually advancing his skills with countless Google analytics and SEO certifications. He found his most meaningful work ten years ago when he entered the field of accessibility, which reflected his deeply held values around equity and inclusion.

Throughout his career at businesses including Ciceron, Nina Hale & Associates, Accessible 360, and Target, Peter provided support, advice, and encouragement to so many colleagues, delivered with his trademark warmth, gentleness, and irreverent sense of humor. He was endlessly curious and always kind.

Peter's true life work, however, was partnering with Michelle to raise his amazing children. He was deeply proud of all three. Giving them joy became his driving purpose. He built a backyard fence that had five doors, two of which were three feet tall so only children could use them. He insisted on putting tiny colored rocks and jewels into any cement work. He hand carved a hinged-wooden door that fit in the base of a massive ash tree for important fairy communication. His custom little library features solar panels and a wind turbine. Peter's Halloween yard work was an annual destination for neighborhood families.

Finding empty beaches on the North Shore to hunt for agates with the kids was his ultimate happy place. Some of Peter's cremains are being turned into stones. When it is warmer, his family will take a boat into the middle of Lake Superior to leave a piece of him there, living amongst the rocks he loved so much. They will put another piece of Peter in Green Lake, where he windsurfed with his father. A celebration of life is being planned in the near future.

Peter is preceded in death by his father, Dr. James Quale. Grateful to have shared a life with him are his mother, Barb; his wife Michelle Woster and three children, Tessa, Emma, and Simon; sister Lisa (Zack Shannon); nieces August Fischer and Livia Shannon and nephew West Fischer; his loyal super mutt Sherman; and countless relatives and friends, who never stopped showing up for him and his family over the last year and a half. A special thanks to the outstanding care team of Dr. John Seng at Minnesota Oncology and to his death doula, Michelle Kolling, who brought light and comfort to Peter's end of life journey.

Memorials in his honor are welcome for two causes of importance to him. Face-It Foundation (https://www.faceitfoundation.org/donate/); and PACER (https://www.pacer.org/assistive-technology/). (Gifts in Peter's memory will be dedicated to the Simon Technology Center)