Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

David Dom Peluso was born in Berwyn on October 3, 1942, and raised in Cicero, Illinois. He was a member of the Order of the Arrow and earned his Eagle Scout. Mr. Peluso graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in English and was the Student Advisor to the Dean of Academic Affairs.

He passed on the 27th of May 2023 around 11:23 p.m at the home of his son in Belton, TX with his son and Meredith Williams at his side, fifteen years to the day after his earthly father passed away in 2008.

Mr. Peluso was accepted into the Naval Flight Officer program and commissioned in September 1967. He earned his wings in early 1968. Mr. Peluso deployed to Vietnam assigned to the Airborne Early Warning Squadron VW-1 in Guam. Mr. Peluso flew 100s of hours of combat missions out of Chulai and DaNang. He ended his tour of duty in January of 1971 as an O3/LTG, with a Top-Secret Clearance, and stayed in the reserves until 1975. Mr. Peluso’s awards and decorations included the Air Medal with the Numeral 1, National Defense Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, RVN Campaign Medal w/ Date Bar, and Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon.

After release from Active Duty, Mr. Peluso attended and graduated Law School at Memphis State University in 1974 with a Juris Doctor Degree. He was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1974 and officially resigned in 2018. Mr. Peluso moved to Hohenwald in 1975 and partnered with Keaton, Turner, and Peluso until 1984. He then set out as a sole practitioner, traveled to as many as 11 counties, tried a variety of cases, both civil and criminal, and argued many appeals over the course of 40 years.

Mr. Peluso supported the Hohenwald Community in numerous ways outside of his law practice. He served as the Cubmaster, sponsored, and advised the Law Post as part of the Explorer Program of the Boy Scouts of America. In the Adopt-A-Class program, he sponsored several 5th and 7th grade classes. He had a lot of great memories he shared mentoring the classes through the law process at the state capitol. The classes also supported the troops and his eldest son’s unit on three deployments to Iraq.

Mr. Peluso was a member of the Board of Directors of then Lewis County Bank, founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Lewis County Education Foundation, member of the Board of Directors and served as its president for three years, overseeing the renovation of the Hohenwald Golf Course. He was the president and secretary of the Perry-Lewis-Hickman-Wayne-Decatur Counties Bar Association. Mr. Peluso was an elected member of the House of Delegates of the Tennessee Bar Association and was appointed hearing panel officer to the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee. He served as a Special General Sessions and Special Circuit Judge. Mr. Peluso was the Legislative Advisor, 70th Legislative District, Tennessee House of Representatives in 1989. He was a Volunteer Attorney for Legal Services of South-Central Tennessee. Mr. Peluso was also a member of the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce and Tennessee Farm Bureau.

Mr. Peluso has two sons from his first marriage to Cheryl Ann Lavers, two grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and five step great-grandchildren. His youngest son, Domineck Vincent who resides in Hohenwald, with his wife Miranda and two stepchildren: son Zach Frazier and his son Opie, and daughter Kiela Edney with her daughters Ashlynn and Rose, sons Asher and Alijah. Mr. Peluso’s eldest son, David Joseph, resides in Belton, TX with his daughter Carly and son Blake. From Mr. Peluso’s second marriage to Dianne Jeania Williams with stepdaughter Meredith Williams who has two daughters: eldest Brooklyn with two children Raelyn and Emmersynn, and youngest daughter Bria. Mr. Peluso’s last partner was Chloe Sheers with daughter “Little” Chloe who he loved and missed.

Mr. Peluso loved to read, golf, bowl, listen to jazz and classical music, and cook to release. He was all about helping the common folk, fighting politics and the corrupt.