Nadine Katherine Petersen passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of 94 on February 18, 2017. Nadine was born in Whitebird, Idaho on January 13, 1923, the only child of Earl and Anneata Rice. Her parents were both teachers and Nadine spent her childhood in Idaho and Oregon attending school in her parents’ classrooms. Nadine’s family also owned a dude ranch, where her family spent their summers riding horses, fishing, and tending to the needs of their guests.
Nadine loved to write and after high school she was the roving reporter for the Grangeville Free Press in Grangeville, Idaho. She attended Kinman Business College in Spokane, Washington and after college went to work in the Personnel Office of a war plant, Alcoa Aluminum.
In June, 1945, Nadine met her future husband, Gordon Petersen, in Lewiston, Idaho, when he was on leave from the Army Air Corps. They were married on November 4, 1945, and moved to Turlock, where Gordon’s family had relocated during the war. They had one daughter, Camille.
Nadine was an Administrative Assistant for a local business and for thirty years a school secretary in the Turlock School District. She loved working and always found time to lift people’s spirits by making them laugh. She was a member of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Turlock and for 58 years a member of the Epsilon Sigma Alpha Sorority, where she was honored as Woman of the Year.
Nadine loved her life, frequently stating she had no regrets and would not change anything. She is predeceased by Gordon, her loving husband of sixty-eight years. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Camille and Dick Taylor, brother-in-law Martin Petersen, sisters-in-law Lillian Shank and Lucille Tacheira. Nadine will be remembered as a loving mother and wife who always had time for her family and friends.
A Celebration of Life service will be held on Monday, March 6 at 2:00 in the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 640 N. Minaret Ave., Turlock. The family requests that donations made in Nadine’s memory be sent to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis TN 381010-9908
