Peter Zacharias

Peter ‘Pete’ Walter-Conrad Zacharias, 74, of Lawrence, died Nov. 2, 2024, at his home.

Peter was born in Hamburg, Germany, on September 30, 1950, and in 1952 immigrated with his family to McPherson, Kansas, sponsored by the Lutheran Aid Society. The family moved to Park City, Kansas in 1954 and to Dodge City, Kansas in 1959, where he graduated high school.

Peter attended the University of Kansas, obtaining a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1972. Following an apprenticeship in Germany and business ventures in Salt Lake City and San Francisco, he returned to Lawrence an accomplished craftsman ready to build his jewelry studio, Goldmakers Jewelry. Fascinated by Lawrence's history, Peter became a dedicated investor in the city's downtown and a familiar figure on the political scene. A medical event in 2016 forced him to withdraw from public life to focus on his rehabilitation.

He met Mary ‘Carita’ Bullard in 1997, and they were married 19 years later. They were in the process of restoring their Old West Lawrence home when he died of a heart attack.

Peter's parents, Carl and Anja Zacharias, died previously. He is survived by Carita and his children from a previous marriage to Kathleen Zacharias: Bernadette Zacharias (Phil Chiles), Nickolas Zacharias, and Jacob Zacharias, all of Lawrence; stepson Caleb Martin; and grandchildren Opal and Daniel Chiles. Other survivors include siblings Micheline Burger (Phil), Colorado Springs, CO; Klaudia Thompson (Ray), Salisbury, MD; and Johann ‘Hannes’ Zacharias (Marcia), Lenexa, KS; as well as numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews in the US and Germany.

Services will be held on Thursday, November 14, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS 66044. Visitation and open-casket viewing will be held from 3 to 4 p.m., followed by a reception with remarks at 4:30 p.m.

We encourage anyone who would like to celebrate Pete's legacy to join us this Thursday. Please dress festively (Hawaiian shirts are greatly encouraged), and if you have any of Pete's jewelry, please wear it. As his family, we will find great comfort in commiserating and reminiscing with the community he loved so much.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial contributions be made to Doug Hitt.

Online condolences made at rumsey-yost.com