Lael Petersen

She was born Sept. 5, 1950 in Seattle, the only child of Lloyd and Marion Peterson.

At a young age she met tall, dark and handsome Clint Eastwood, who was acting in a playhouse near Green Lake. She graduated from Shoreline High School and Shoreline Community College, where she studied accounting. She worked for decades as a bookkeeper/accountant for four different Seattle construction companies. She was a proud member of the Women in Construction group. She retired in 2008. She met her future husband Doug, at a social event at Martha Lake, in Snohomish County in 1977 and they married Sept. 1, 1978 in Sultan, Wash. Her husband said: “Lael didn’t have to change too much…just one letter in her last name.”

Her avocation in life was thrift shopping. She never passed by a Goodwill Store or garage sale. She was “frugal,” but not a cheapskate. Every room in her home is a testament to her ability to find invaluable items at fair prices. She was orderly and tidy, but not a perfectionist. One of her life mottos was: “No Expectations, No Disappointments.”

Together the Petersens started Edmonds Winery, which they ran for years — one favorite vintage was a red wine called Bentley, named after a beloved family dog. Her husband said: “ In winemaking there are artisans and chemists. We were the former. She was my partner in wine. She was my partner in everything we did in life.”

Doug and Lael enjoyed western Europe travels. Her passport was stamped by the UK, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Denmark. A major draw was also France, where a daughter lives with their grandchildren.

Back home, her favorite “must-see TV” was: Law and Order SVU, which she rarely missed. Lael followed politics, but was neither Democrat nor Republican, choosing to take a middle-of-the-road approach imbued with “Christian values.”

The couple enjoyed entertaining on all occasions. Lael was considered the organizer of the party, not necessarily the life of the party. She could do both.

She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Doug, of the longtime family home in Edmonds; five-stepchildren, Bradley Petersen, Bryan Petersen, Carmel Petersen, Carrie Dockter and Candice Harrington; a cousin Valerie Clausen; five granddaughters and five grandsons.

Visitation will be at Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home, 1111 Aurora Ave. N., Seattle, Wash., on Friday, March 29, 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and also Saturday, March 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A private internment will be held later, as well as a Celebration of Life in the Spring.

Her husband wishes to formally thank the entire staff of Rosewood Courte Memory Care Facility in Edmonds for their superb care of Lael.

Of Lael, her husband said: “she was the sweetest, kindest, most generous person you would ever have the privilege of meeting,”

Somewhere over the rainbow

bluebirds fly

Are the dreams that you dare to

Oh why or why can’t I?

Someday, I’ll wish upon a star

Wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where trouble melts like lemon drops

High above the chimney tops

That’s where you’ll find me.