http://www.pagosasun.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/obit-peterson-175x300.jpgOur much-loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Joan Marie Peterson, passed away peacefully Sept. 10 under the compassionate care of the professionals at the Pagosa Springs hospital with a group of her children and friends by her side. She was 89 years old.
Joan was born in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 12, 1929, to Engwald and Angeline Norton. She married her husband, Irvin “Ovie” Peterson, in 1948. In 1950, they decided to move to San Diego, Calif., and start raising a family, where they lived until 1979. She is survived by her four children, Ken Peterson, of Pagosa Springs; Linda Gill, of Pagosa Springs; Kristi Brown, of Temecula, Calif.; and Daniel Peterson, of Tucson, Ariz. She has 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She was also a second mother to many individuals throughout her life and always provided loving support and guidance, and often shelter and protection. She was preceded in death by her husband, “Ovie,” in 2006.
In Joan and Ovie’s early retirement years, they moved to Pagosa Springs in 1979 and built their retirement home. Over the years, they often volunteered with the Red Cross and traveled to various disaster locations across the U.S. in their VW van to help out in any way they could. Some of the longtime local residents may remember that they also owned PG’s Ice Cream shop in the early 1980s for a few years that featured a large collection of jelly beans and specialty ice cream pies.
Joan was a devout believer in the deity of Jesus Christ and was a regular at several of the nondenominational Christian churches in Pagosa Springs over the years and enjoyed teaching and going to Bible studies and prayer groups. She was active in many volunteer organizations from helping with food collection and distribution, Christmas gift packages and recently as a hostess at the healing rooms.
Joan also enjoyed playing mahjong and canasta on a weekly basis for many years and especially looked forward to the ongoing lunch dates with her many friends, both young and old.
She will be missed greatly by family and friends and remembered as the truly loving person she was.
One of her many sayings: “Live as if you’re going to live forever … But live each day as if it’s your last.”
A memorial service will be announced at a future date.
