Peter Russell Alberding
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Published in May 2026
Peter Russell Alberding died at home on May 1st, surrounded by his family and friends, two and a half years after being diagnosed with ALS. Pete was 60 years old.
Pete was born in New York on January 10th, 1966, to Ellen Patricia (Canning) and Russell John Alberding. The family moved to Lake Bluff, IL and Pete graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1984. He attended Phillips Academy as a post-grad and matriculated at Wesleyan University in the fall of 1985. As a member of the men’s varsity basketball team, he was a career 1,000-point scorer and held the men’s basketball single-season scoring record of 529 points from 1988 until it was broken in 2025. At Wesleyan, Pete met Lynn (Kelly) at the beginning of their sophomore year, and they soon fell in love. When they married in 1992, Pete had just started his career as a financial advisor and worked at PaineWebber, which was acquired by UBS in 2000. As part of the acquisition, UBS invited a small number of US financial advisors to move to Zurich so Pete, Lynn, and their three young children moved to Switzerland in 2004. Pete was required to learn German for his role with UBS, and to no one’s surprise Pete dedicated himself to becoming fluent in German, a skill that he loved to practice with friends he and Lynn made in Switzerland and after returning to the US.
In college and in the years after graduation, Pete ‘noodled’ on a guitar. In the aftermath of a bad finger injury in 2009 that nearly took away his ability to play guitar at all, he committed himself fully to the instrument. Pete spent dozens of hours a week practicing scales and licks in the elusive goal of getting “that Jerry Garcia sound”. More significantly, Pete re-formed Unclaimed Freight, a jam band from his college years, and with a new core of musicians they played to packed houses in local bars. It was a weakness in Pete’s left hand on the fretboard that first caused him to think something was wrong; he was grateful to the quick action of his physician, who got him in to see the specialists and confirm a diagnosis of ALS early in 2024. As his hands weakened, Pete started to play harmonica and sing with the same focus and joy he had brought to playing guitar. His ability to adapt as a musician bought him another rewarding year of playing with the band.
Pete built a career in wealth management and felt a deep commitment to his clients, many of whom became lifelong friends. He appreciated the trust his clients put in him and the fulfillment that came from helping people achieve their financial goals. Pete retired from Raymond James in October 2025, a change in his daily routine that also impacted his constant companion: his black Labrador retriever, Moose, whom he had trained as a service dog after his diagnosis and who joined him at the office, at medical appointments, on errands around town, and even on domestic and international flights. Pete loved Moose and would always say that “life with a dog is just so much better than life without a dog.”
As all of Pete’s family and friends know, Pete enjoyed nothing more than a vigorous debate. Pete’s voice in conversation was a defining characteristic, immediately recognizable as it resonated across a table or through a room. We will miss his loud candor and the references to philosophy, sports, or history that he would pull out to emphasize a point. During the last year of his life, Pete and a friend did a weekly podcast and discussed a wide variety of topics from relationships to music to behavioral finance to his own mortality. The podcast, “For Pete’s Sake” https://open.spotify.com/show, grew a following on Spotify well beyond his expectations and Pete was gratified to hear from listeners whose lives were impacted by his story. For everyone who loved Pete, and grandchildren still to be born, being able to listen to him share his thoughts about living with ALS and other subjects that mattered to him is a gift beyond measure.
Pete was a loyal friend and brother, a devoted father to Jack, Mike, and Lily, and the loving husband of almost 34 years to Lynn. We are heartbroken to have to continue our lives without him, but grateful for the special memories we made with him after his diagnosis and for the grace he showed as ALS changed his life.
In addition to his wife and children, Pete is survived by his brother Nick Alberding (Jessie) of Yarmouth, ME, sisters Ellen Alberding (Kelly Welsh) and Jane McCarthy (Michael) of Chicago, IL, in-laws Margrit and Francis Kelly of Zurich, Switzerland, brother-in-law John Kelly (Kate) of Marlborough, MA, sisters-in-law Irene Jarak (Dražen) and Louise Bergin (Brian) of Zurich, Switzerland, and dozens of cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends who will miss and remember his quick wit, jump shot, easy laugh, and unvarnished opinions. Pete was predeceased by his parents, Pat and Russ Alberding of Lake Bluff and Chicago, IL.
Pete and his family are grateful for the friends who were a consistent presence during the last year of his life, coming to share a laugh or just keep him company. The generosity of those close to Pete filled the house with flowers and food, and he was always especially pleased to see the people who came in the morning with cookies or in the afternoon with Guinness. We are also thankful for the love and care of his home health aide and for the amazing care he received from his team at the Healey Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital.
All are welcome at the celebration of Pete’s life, which will be held at First Parish in Needham at 23 Dedham Ave, Needham, MA on May 16th at 10:30am, and at the reception immediately afterwards at Brae Burn Country Club at 326 Fuller St, Newton. The services from First Parish will be livestreamed for anyone unable to attend; please see the link at uuneedham.org/memorial.
In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made in Pete’s memory to Compassionate Care ALS (https://ccals.org/donate/), a nonprofit organization with a mission to support people living with ALS.