April 11, 1946 – Jan. 23, 2025
Peter John Culp, age 78, of the Village of Egg Harbor, passed away peacefully and surrounded by family on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at the Pete and Jelaine Horton Center Skilled Nursing Facility at Door County Medical Center in Sturgeon Bay.
He was born to the late Calvin and Bernice Culp in Green Bay on April 11, 1946. He was a 1964 graduate of De Pere High School. After high school, Peter was drafted into the United States Army and served as Communications Specialist. Peter graduated from UW Green Bay and continued his education at UW Madison where he graduated with a master’s degree in pharmacy.
Peter worked for UW Stevens Point Student Health Center as the Pharmacist. Peter married Laurel (Torinus) Wake on May 26, 1990, at the Torinus Family cottage, “The Omelet”, in Egg Harbor. In 1996, the couple made Door County their forever home and bought The Nordic Lodge in Sister Bay, which they owned and operated until 2007. Before retirement, he worked as a part-time pharmacist at Sister Bay Pharmacy and Bay Pharmacy in Sturgeon Bay.
Peter enjoyed curling. He was a member of the Stevens Point Curling Club. Bicycling was another favorite hobby. In Stevens Point, he joined a bicycling club where he and Laurel would ride with other couples and completed two European bike tours in Ireland and Spain. He also enjoyed spending his summers sailing on the waters of Green Bay on “Cheers” and was a frequently frustrated golfer.
The Culp family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff at the Skilled Nursing Facility. Peter had been a resident of the facility for over a year and a half. The family shares their sincere gratitude to the wonderful staff and residents of the facility.
Peter will be missed by his wife, Laurel Culp; children, Lisa (Steve) Arendt, Amie Brey, and Preston (Emily) Wake; grandchildren, Austin Kissel, Ingrid (David) Reinhardt, Jacob (Terrah) Arendt, Teagan Wake, Taylor Wake, and Aaron Brey; great-grandchildren, Beatrice and Florence Reinhardt; siblings, Caren Slang, and Cal (Gail) Culp; brothers and sister-in-law, John (Kine) Torinus, Chuck (Nancy) Torinus, and Maryclare Torinus. He is further survived by niece, Pam Booker and nephews Jim Lee and Calvin Culp and other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Calvin and Bernice Culp; son, Aaron Wake; parents-in-law, Bill and Louise (Torinus) Murray; and Tom Torinus, Mary Torinus, and Mark Torinus.
A celebration of life is being planned for Peter in late summer. He will be laid to rest in Little Sister Cemetery in the Town of Liberty Grove.
In lieu of flowers, the family wishes donations to be made in Peter Culp’s name to either the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (www.michaeljfox.org/donate) or the Pete and Jelaine Horton Center Skilled Nursing Facility (c/o Door County Medical Center Foundation, P.O. Box 230, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235; www.dcmedical.org/foundation/skilled-nursing-facility-and-hospice-care-center)
Expressions of sympathy, memories, and photos of Peter may be shared with his family through his tribute page at HuehnsFuneralHome.com
