ZEE ANN PETERSON

Zee Ann Peterson nee Lauderdale October 12, 1936 to June 26, 2014 Zee was a lover of words and Scrabble aficionado, so I am sure that she could appreciate my difficulty in choosing a few select words to describe her. She was courageous, daring, adventurous, creative, imaginative, reliable, dependable, resourceful, versatile, humorous, strong-willed, independent, loving, kind, compassionate – all this and so much more. Her wonderful character manifested itself in everything she touched. As a child, she was full of fun and folly, and greatly adored by her parents. One of her imaginative phases entailed galloping, kicking, and neighing around the countryside, pretending she was a horse. She eventually spoiled a Tennessee Walker named Star Baby, and lived in many unusual places in order to keep her friend. In later years she would seek the wild horses near Virginia City, completely akin to their free spirit. Horses were only a part of her connection to animals. She always had a dog in her life, and loved and rescued all creatures great and small. She attended Napa Valley College high school, and her continued creativity and spirit were attested to by the multitude of photos and signed messages of her classmates. Upon graduation, she joined the Air Force. It was there that she met her husband and was discharged for being with child in 1958. They had four darling children who were cared for with the utmost love and attention. Her enormous energies were applied to mothering, not only her own children, but all the children on the block. She threw the best parties for kids and adults; always with a creative theme. Every holiday and occasion was celebrated with fun décor, costumes, cakes, games, and fun beyond all imagination. In addition to her parties, camping trips were also considered essential. All kids, dogs, friends and family were welcome and provided for. Her career started with the Air Force. After her children were considered grown enough, she worked for a local florist and carried on that line of work regardless of where she was located. Eventually, she would move to office work, first at Anderson Pools in Marin County, then Digital Telephone Systems before moving back to Reno and joining the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, and ultimately ending at the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office, where she is loved and remembered to this day, and her Halloween costuming tradition is continued. She retired at the age of 70, and took herself and her dogs and cats to Grass Valley, where she was close to family and made a sweet new life for herself. She costumed for the annual ghost train, remained involved with pets and rescue animals, and settled comfortably in the mountains amongst the pines where she loved to be. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her, but is undoubtedly happy now to be with all her dearly departed friends and pets that arrived in heaven before her. Her charities are anything involving the protection and care of animals: animalsave.org and wildhorserescue.org are two of them. The American heart Association would also be on her list at www.heart.org.

ZEE ANN PETERSON

October 12, 1936 - June 26, 2014