Peter Rooney
Peter J. Rooney, 61, of Keene, loving husband and devoted father, who worked in journalism and higher education, advocated for food security and cancer research, and enjoyed skiing, sailing, hiking, reading, writing, spending time with his family and friends and traveling, died on Jan. 1, 2026, after a long struggle with kidney cancer.
He was born Oct. 28, 1964, in Munich, Germany, the son of John H. and Ursula Grunberg Rooney. He is survived by his wife Katharina (Wurtl) Rooney, whom he married on Aug. 6, 1986, in Vienna, Austria. Other survivors include two sons, Maximilian Rooney of Burlington, Vt. and Jakob Rooney (Kayla Krut) of Vienna, Austria; three sisters, Kathleen Rooney Hennessey (Jim Hennessey) of Chicago, Ill., Anna Rooney of Oak Park, Ill., and Julia Rooney of Berwyn, Ill.; one brother, John Paul Rooney (Linda); his mother, Ursula Rooney of Sycamore, Ill.; and many beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews in the U.S. and Europe.
Peter grew up in Sycamore, Ill., and graduated from Sycamore High School in 1982. He graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and later earned a master’s degree in the same subject, also from the University of Illinois, in 1995.
He met his beloved wife Katharina during a study abroad year spent as an undergraduate in Austria, where he developed his fluency in German and a lifelong love of skiing.
He spent 10 years as a reporter, first for the (Charleston, Ill.) Times Courier, then the (Champaign-Urbana, Ill.) News-Gazette and then the Associated Press, as an Arthur Burns Fellow, in Berlin, Germany. His proudest accomplishment as a reporter was writing a series of stories that contributed to the defendant’s eventual exoneration and release from Illinois’ Death Row unit. A book he wrote about the case, “Die Free,” remains available on Amazon. In Illinois, he was a volunteer firefighter for the White Heath Fire Department, and a member of Knights of Pythias Twin City Lodge 69.
In 1997, Peter moved to Keene with his wife and young family to begin a new life in the Monadnock Region, with its many recreational opportunities. He joined Gehrung Associates and for 10 years consulted with colleges, universities and non-profit clients around the world, generating media exposure for their most promising initiatives. In 2008, he was recruited to direct communications and marketing at Amherst College, where he served as Director of Public Affairs until 2014. He and his family enjoyed skiing and hiking in New Hampshire and Vermont, camping trips to Cape Ann and summer visits to Cape Cod and relatives in Tyrol, Austria.
In 2011, Peter was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer, which had metastasized to his left arm and right leg and would eventually spread to his brain. His successful participation in a Phase 1 clinical trial resulted in several years of remission. Several surgeries to his right femur limited his mobility but never dampened his enthusiasm for activities such as swimming, snorkeling, sailing, cycling and hiking, though he reluctantly gave up skiing. Katharina lovingly supported him through the ups and downs of several rounds of treatment, his numerous surgeries and in his final days.
He served on the board of the Community Kitchen from 2016 to 2024, as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of New Hampshire from 2015 to 2017 and advocated for kidney cancer research federal funding. A book called “Immunopatient,” a reported memoir about Peter’s quest for healing on the frontiers of medicine and meditation, was published in 2017. He served briefly on the board of The Colonial Theater in 2025.
He developed a love for sailing, learning from scratch in 2007, when he joined the Spofford Yacht Club. He enjoyed Wednesday night Sunfish races, as well as sailing his Cat Boat on Spofford Lake and at Arey’s Pond in Cape Cod at the annual Cat Gathering. He served as membership committee chair for several years and as commodore from 2020 and 2021.
In recent years, he and Katharina traveled to several Caribbean countries as well as Hawaii to pursue their love of snorkeling. They enjoyed many fond adventures swimming among coral reefs, tropical fish, dolphins, sea turtles and manta rays.
Memorials may be made to the Kidney Cancer Research Program at Beth Israel Medical Center, 330 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215; The Community Kitchen, 37 Mechanic St., Keene, NH 0343; Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, 312 Marlboro St., Keene, NH 03431; and The Colonial Theater, 95 Main St., Keene, NH 03431.
The Rooney family is planning a celebration of Peter’s life later this year.
(Published in the Keene Sentinel, January 5, 2026)
