Peter C. Hand died peacefully on April 7, 2021 in Winter Park, Florida at the age of 96. Pete is survived by his wife of 65 years, Jeanne; son Joseph (Bunny) Hand; daughter Jeanne-Marie (Bill) Bruno; daughter Mary-Ellen (Bill) Lee; grandchildren Kelsey (Miki) Ng, Peter (Casey) Bruno, Ellen Bruno, Dakota (Tariq) Getrouw, Connor Lee; and great-grandchildren Kyla, Miki, and Raya Ng.

Pete was born on August 18, 1924 in Boston, MA. He was a Marine in World War II and was injured on Iwo Jima. After serving his country, he graduated from MIT with a degree in Electrical Engineering and completed his master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Harvard. Pete married Jeanne on May 18, 1956 in Baltimore. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Winter Park. During his 38-year career with the Martin Marietta Company in Orlando, Pete worked on the ICBM, Sprint, and Pershing missile systems and was responsible for their autopilot design.

Pete continued to support MIT over fifty years by interviewing prospective students for admission. He reluctantly stopped when he turned 90.

Almost every weekend for 50 years, Pete and Jeanne would drive 100 miles to spend time in Vero Beach at the "Second Hand House". Pete loved walks on the beach in the morning and reading, especially about early American history, in the afternoon.

Pete preserved family memories by taking movies at birthdays, holidays, special events like weddings, and various occasions when relatives visited. He also played the harmonica for birthdays and holidays.
The burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to MIT, in memory of Peter Hand. Your donation will go to the MIT Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Fund to provide support for deserving MIT students with financial need.
Checks may be made payable to MIT and mailed to:

Memorial Gifts Office
MIT Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Fund
600 Memorial Drive, W98-500, Cambridge, MA 02139

The family of Peter Hand invites you to leave a message of condolence on the Tribute Wall created in his memory.