Peter Jett

Peter Holt Jett, 70, died July 27, 2024, in Port Huron, MI. He was born November 28, 1953, in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Peter attended schools across the country due to his father’s military deployments, most notably Mt. Pleasant Academy and Moultrie Junior High School, Mt. Pleasant, SC, and McLean High School (1971), McLean, VA. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America in SC and CA. Peter graduated Magna Cum Laude from Clemson University with a BS in Recreation and Park Administration, where he was a freshman walk-on for the varsity soccer team and was a founding member of the Clemson Whitewater Club.

Peter’s talents led to an amazing and varied professional life which included being a park and forest ranger in Florida at Ft. Pickens National Park and Eglin Air Force Base, modeling, and starting several businesses as an entrepreneur. His love of the outdoors and whitewater sports led him to work with Perception Kayaks as Vice President and President of Hydra Kayaks where he was called “a first-class individual and… the most knowledgeable man in the country about hands on building of rotomolded kayaks.” He and three friends founded Dagger Canoe and Kayaks in 1988, where Peter was Vice President and international sales rep, further revolutionizing the rotomold process of multi-colored kayaks. His expertise in manufacturing helped propel Dagger to be the number one whitewater brand in the world. Through Dagger, Peter was associated with the 1996 Olympics where Dagger canoes and kayaks were paddled by Team USA. Peter himself was a National Champion in whitewater open canoe. His love of paddling led him to run many major rivers in the US, Ireland, Europe, Japan, Central and South America.

After the sale of Dagger in 1998, Peter moved to Colorado, and then to Washington, where he designed and built his ranch. In 2014, Peter moved with his horses to Michigan to be nearer his parents. In Michigan, he again created a phenomenal horse farm and volunteered with the Lion’s Club.

An avid outdoorsman, Peter loved sailing, off-trail hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and trail riding on his horses. He was known for being smart, enthusiastic, kind, witty, talented, and selfless. He was passionate about his family and friends, his horses and dogs, his farm and gardens, his community and country. In keeping with Peter’s lifelong spirit of generosity, even in death he continued by providing to the Gift of Life Michigan.

He is survived by his loving parents, Captain William S. Jett III (USN retired) and Sarah Sherman Holt Jett of Fort Gratiot, MI; his sisters, Anne Jett Owens (Vernon) of Mt. Pleasant, SC and Caroline Jett-Donovan of Tampa, FL; nephew and godson Peter Sherman Jett of Rehoboth, MA; and his beloved horses, Amigo and Splash. He was predeceased by his paternal grandparents, William Starke Jett Jr. and Estelle Cotton Harding Jett of Mt. Pleasant, SC; maternal grandparents Richard Watkins Holt and Estella Mahon Holt of Port Huron, MI; and brother-in-law Ken Donovan of Tampa, FL

Visitation will be from 2-6 p.m. Saturday, August 3, 2024 in Karrer-Simpson Funeral Home, Port Huron. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, August 8, 2024 with visitation starting at 10:00 a.m. in Faith Lutheran Church, Port Huron. The Reverend Mark Huff will officiate. Interment will immediately follow at Lakeside Cemetery.

The family prefers memorial contributions be made in Peter’s name to the City of Port Huron Memorial Tree Fund. To send condolences, visit karrersimpson.com