Janice Peterson

Janice Louise Peterson passed away peacefully at her home on August 1^st, 2023.

Jan was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois on March 1^st, 1946, to Edward and Mercedes O’Donnell. The family moved to Edina, MN in 1949 and later to North Oaks in 1959. She graduated from Mounds View High School in 1964. After high school she spent a year in Boulder, Colorado and returned to the St. Paul area where she worked as a waitress for many years at the Sandpiper Supper Club.

She reconnected with fellow classmate and married Alan Peterson on October 16, 1971. They raised their three children in White Bear Lake where Janice worked at Taymark for 30 years.

Jan was a beautiful piano player and enjoyed ceramics as a hobby for many years with a great talent for detail. She enjoyed gardening and had many beautiful flowers around her yard. She enjoyed motorcycle rides with Alan and boating in the summer months with the family. Her favorite place to visit was Eagle Harbor and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the family took many vacations over the years and one of her favorite activities was to pick berries with her mother-in law to make goodies with. Jan loved watching her sons play hockey when they were younger even though she was always cold. She was able to make some special memories with her sisters on trips to Pittsburgh, Seattle and at the Lake Cabins. In recent years she loved spending time at her daughters’ farm in South Dakota, she enjoyed the peaceful ness away from the city. Her biggest pride and joy were her grandchildren and being able to spend time with them and she loved to share stories of what they were up to.

Jan was a loving individual who spent many years taking care of others while working full time. She was a caretaker for her mother-in-law, cared for her husband Alan when he became sick from cancer and helped care for her parents.

Preceded in death by her parents Edward and Mercedes O’Donnell, her husband Alan Peterson, and her son Cory Peterson. Jan is survived by her daughter Kim (Greg) Schiefen and son Curt (Jamie) Peterson; ten grandchildren; Ashley (Joe) Vander Wilt, Cassie (Luke) Galloway, Kolby Schiefen, Austin Wagner, Logan Peterson, Hunter, Gunner, Colt, Gauge, and Cooper Dahl, four great-grandchildren; Ivy, Crew, Theo and Walker; sisters Cathy O’Donnell, Patty (Don) Neeb, Terri (Jim) Burke and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held Friday, August 11, 2023 at 11:00 AM, at Mueller Memorial-White Bear Lake. Visitation will be from 10:30-11:00 AM, and a reception will follow the service. Janice will be laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, beside her husband, Alan.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Minnesota Alzheimer's Association.