Rosemary Elaine Peterson

Rosemary was born in Akron, Ohio on February 20, 1944.

She is survived by her husband James Peterson, her sister Karen Pimental, her children David Wilson of Redding, CA and Sarah Peterson Wren of Brinnon, WA.

After attending Firestone Elementary in Akron, Rosemary moved with her mother and sister in 1957 to the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. She attended the Sun Valley Jr. High and Birmingham High School where she graduated in 1962. By all accounts, she was an excellent student. Rosemary had a beautiful voice and she participated in musical events, choirs, and performed with the high school drill team. After graduation, she went to work for McDonnel-Douglas in 1968 in Santa Monica. She married in 1964 and had a son David Wilson. In 1969, she went to work at the Office of the Chancellor for the University of California and State Colleges. Her family moved to Redding, CA in 1974 where she worked as a word processor at CH2M Hill and later Ott Engineering. She divorced in 1977 and married James Peterson in 1978. In 1979 she was hired as the office manager for a Redding dentist. Daughter Sarah was born in 1982. She went back to school in 1987-88 to study human development, nutrition, psychology, and interpersonal communications at Redding’s Shasta College. Rosemary joined PEO (Philanthropic Educational Association) International in 1987 and was a member until her death. The PEO Sisterhood celebrates, supports and motivates women around the world through education. An endowed scholarship in Rosemary’s name has been established at the PEO-supported Cottey College for women in Nevada, MO. In addition to PEO, Rosemary continued to be involved the community – singing in the church choir and working at Sarah’s elementary school. The family enjoyed all of the outdoor activities around Redding; including hiking, backpacking, camping and fishing. They especially enjoyed camping on the coast with their tent trailer.

In 1988, the family moved to Sammamish, WA where James was transferred for his job with Ott Engineering – later HDR Engineering in Bellevue, WA. After raising Sarah, Rosemary went back to school in 1994 to become a Licensed Massage Therapist. She graduated from the Brenneke School of Massage and Bastyr University anatomical program studies in Seattle, WA in 1995. She opened her own massage therapy practice in Bellevue, WA where she worked until she retired in 2008. She was fulfilled by helping her clients recover mobility after illness or debilitating injures. The family enjoyed local travel, skiing, and sailing in Lake Washington and in Puget Sound to the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands. After a serious health scare in 2001, Rosemary and James decided it was time to go see more of the country and the world. From then until her latest health challenges, they traveled to many US states and more than 60 countries on every continent from Iceland to Antarctica. They cruised in every ocean and many seas including two crossings each of the Atlantic and Pacific. They cruised the Danube, the Rhine, the Amazon and the Nile. Rosemary loved being at sea, meeting new people, and seeing amazing sites around the world.

In 2022, they sold their home of 36 years in Sammamish to move to a 55 plus retirement community in Lacey, WA. This move allowed them to be closer to their daughter Sarah living in Brinnon, WA. In 2023, Rosemary suffered another health crisis in the middle of the Pacific on a ship on the way back from Japan. After arriving in Kodiak, AK, she had to be air medevac’d to a hospital in Anchorage, AK to recover before returning to Seattle. This began the long-term decline in her health. Rosemary leaves a legacy of life-long learning, love, caring and adventure that touched everyone in her life. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her. Rest in peace our dearest Rosemary – you led a wonderful and fruitful life.