Farmer; Mill Worker; Pioneer

Pedro “Pete” Obregon was a kind and generous man of Tempe who did a great deal to give back to his community over the course of his lifetime.  Born to a pioneer family in Tempe in 1898, Pete Obregon was one of ten children.  His Yaqui father, Serapio Obregon, made his way up to Tempe from Sonora, Mexico, and purchased land in the San Pablo neighborhood in 1887.  In 1902, he purchased a large lot at the east edge of San Pablo on Dewey Street where Pete Obregon would live for most of his life.  As they grew up in Tempe, Pete Obregon and his sister and brothers did well in school and learned the skills and values of their pioneer parents.  Pete Obregon became a farmer, but he also worked for many years at the Hayden Flour Mill.  In 1958, Pete and his wife, Fedelia, sold the family homestead at 540 E. Dewey Street in the playfully named Mickey Mouse barrio as Arizona State University expanded in the late 1950s.  Pete, Fidelia, and their family headed east to buy a farm along Old Transmission Road, at the southeast corner of what we know today as University Drive and Smith Road.  Known in the community as “Don Pedro,” Pete Obregon is lovingly remembered by his family today for his guidance, hard work, generosity, and spirit for serving his family, friends, and community.