Obituary of Anita Fern Peterson

Special Memories of Mom’s Life as remembered by

Her daughter, Dianne Williams

 

 

Mom was born in Bellingham, Washington on October 13, 1925 to Olive (Pontius) and Theodore Wenzel. She and her sisters, LaNeva, Opal and Mary were close throughout their long lives. Her family lived in several places in Washington, settling in the Seattle community of Ballard where she met and married Allen Williams they had two daughters, Dianne and Jeannette.      

 

In 1957 she moved to Bellevue, Washington and had two sons, Steven and Ronald.   It was in Bellevue that she found a way to show her creative talents and love of flowers when she became a florist. Her first shop was The Flower Shed, a drive-through florist. Her mother often helped her there. They loved flowers.

 

After she moved to Portland, Oregon in the early 70’s, she continued her floral ambitions. She created artificial flower arrangements in her garage and sold them to Safeway, followed by a flower shop in Zim’s Market. She married Glenn Peterson in 1978, and in 1982, they opened another flower shop on SE Glisan…Anita’s Flower Boutique. Although she could create beautiful arrangements of flowers for all occasions, orchids were her favorite, and her garden window at home was always full of beautiful orchid plants. She became known as the “orchid lady”.                                        

 

Mom found her soulmate and true love when she met and married Glenn. He was a wonderful man, and they shared a love of travel, their home and garden and living every day to its fullest.

 

She enjoyed many hobbies and interests. One of her favorite things to do was to travel…whether it was across the state or across the country. Every trip was an adventure. She and Glenn would head down the road in the motor home singing “on the road again”. She also loved Hawaii and made several trips there with family and friends.

 

Pets always had a place in mom’s home…dogs, cats, goldfish and birds. She was especially fond of poodles, from a big standard poodle to the tiny teacup. Her last two dogs were Lhasa Apsos…Tuffy, and Buddy. She also loved her cats. Romeo, a Siamese that traveled in the motor home with them.  Her last were Persians…Muffy, Cookie  and Callie. They were her buddies to the end. Of course, there were the goats and horse at their farm on the Nehalem river, the hummingbirds, the robins nesting on her back porch, the entertaining squirrels, and Peaches, the egg-laying parakeet. She loved them all.

 

Fishing and boating were her passions next to being a florist. It was a family affair. She shared those special times with her father, Ted, her sons, Steven and Ron, and Glenn. Many, many days were spent landing the fish and catching crabs for the pot. Mom could take apart a crab faster than anyone as well as land the biggest fish of the

Day.

 

The hardest time for mom was in 1989 when Glenn had a crippling stroke. It left him without use of his right side and unable to speak. Mom cared for him at home until 1999 when he went into a nursing home. Even there, mom was his soulmate and visited him daily. She made flower arrangements for the staff and brought joy to his limited life. In 2001, mom arranged to renew their wedding vows at the nursing home. She arranged all the flowers for tables, guests and staff. Many of the family attended, including her sister, LaNeva and husband Orlo. The four of them were always close and traveled together…fishing and crabbing.

 

In 2002, Glenn passed away from complications of his stroke with mom and Ron at his side. It’s hard to put into words how incredibly sad and painful this time was for mom. Her son, Steven and daughter-in-law, Cheryl, were there to support and help her. To get through the grieving, she found a job at Costco, handing out samples to customers. Once again, she used her sales skills to become the top salesperson many times. She was there until 2005…and we celebrated her 80^th birthday with friends from Costco and family.

 

In 2008, she had double knee replacement surgery which totally improved her mobility. Cheryl, Steve, her loving sister, Mary, and I helped her through the recovery process. After recovery, she was able to travel again, and it wasn’t long before she was traveling to Hawaii, California and the coast of Oregon.

 

Mom celebrated many of her birthdays  with family. In October 2015, Mom’s 90^th was a joyous time for all of us. The family gathered together at the Outback restaurant, and it made her so happy to be honored by her loved ones. It was a memorable birthday.                                                            

                        

Due to failing health, the next four years of her daily life was spent at home with Cheryl and her caregivers. After her last fall and trip to the hospital in 2019, she could no longer return to her beloved home.

 

In February 2020, we found her a lovely care home in Portland right before the Covid-19 restrictions closed the nursing home. We brought furniture, and personal items from home and decorated her two rooms so she could have familiar and personal memories around her.

 

Mom remained at the care home until December 20, 2020, when Jesus called her home. She was 95 and passed from this earth in Portland with her care givers, Ileana, Iulie and Lydia by her side. Sadly, we were unable to be with her due to the Covid-19 restrictions, but took solace knowing that she passed peacefully in her sleep. We were blessed to have her in our lives for as long as we did.

 

These memories in no way recall all the times and events in her life. Her many friends and family will have their own reflections of times and experiences shared. She left us with much to remember. Her adventurous spirit and love for life will live in our hearts forever.

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