Audrey Winifred Petersen

It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness we announce the passing on January 6, 2024 of our beloved Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother, Audrey Winifred Petersen nee Lock. She entered the arms of the Lord and joined her husband of 41 years, Frederick L. Petersen, Major, USAF (ret.), while quietly sleeping at the Stonebridge Health Rehab facility, Austin, Texas.

Audrey W. Lock, born December 28, 1928 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. She was an Air Raid Assistant during the WWII Blitz of 1944-45. In 1948 she followed her older sister Sylvia Mackey, the wife of a Naval Officer, to Lake Charles, LA. While working as a bookkeeper, acting in a local theater group, and teaching dancing at Arthur Murray’s Dance Studio, she met Lt. Petersen. A WWII Navy Veteran. They married December 15, 1952 in Houston, TX. Audrey, who was active in the Officer’s Wife Club at several Air Force bases, dutifully maintained the household while Frederick served as a Command Pilot and one of the first Nuclear Weapons Officers in the USAF Strategic Air Command. While moving a total of 12 times in 15 years, Frederick served several deployments during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The family moved in 1968 to Austin, TX after Frederick retired. Audrey worked as an administrative assistant, employment recruiter, jewelry store salesperson, and part-time actress in local movies and commercials. She was an excellent cook who loved to prepare lavish meals.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick, mother, Winifred S. Lock, father, William M. Lock, and her dear, older sister Sylvia. She is survived by a loving extended family including her son, Mark L. Petersen, his wife, Tracey L. Petersen, and their daughters, Hope L. Petersen and Mellisa L. Tully, her daughter Susan E. Smith and husband Wayne N. Smith, and granddaughters Shannon and husband Matt Papa, Kelly Smith, and great grandsons, Aspen and Nolan.

A private funeral will be conducted by the family on Saturday, February 3, 2024 at the Cook-Walden/Memorial Gardens, Pflugerville, TX where she will be interred with her husband.

We wish to thank the loving staff at Stonebridge Health Rehab facility for their care during her 6 year residency.