Alice Jane Peterson

Alice left this world in the early hours of March 13, 2021 at the age of 102. She lived a remarkable life. Her story begins during the pandemic of 1918, graduated from Mechanic Arts High School in 1936, went on to serve in the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) of the United State Naval Reserve during WW2 as a storekeeper, after her service went on to study at the University of Minnesota where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science with honors in 1951 and worked as a Dietician at several hospitals throughout the Twin Cities. Retired in 1981.

She was born to Thomas and Miriam Jenkins on November 23, 1918 in Tracy, Minnesota. She was the third youngest of nine children. The family moved from Tracy to St. Paul in 1929. Alice was extremely proud of her Welsh heritage.

In 1943, Alice and her sister Orpha enlisted in the WAVES. They trained at Hunter College in the Bronx, New York City and Alice was stationed at the Naval Training Base in Sampson, New York. She was proud that in 1944 she marched in a parade for FDR, a memory she shared with her family.

In 1954 she married Irving “Pete” Peterson and settled in Minneapolis, MN. Throughout their 42-year marriage they lived throughout the Twin Cities. They were flipping houses long before the term was coined.

Throughout her life she continued with her education, something the Jenkins family held in high regard. In 1966, she earned a certificate for computer programming for the IBM 1401 Data Processing System from the Electronic Computer Programming Institute.

She was a talented seamstress, quilter, smocking, and nearly every type of needle art. Her great-nieces, great-great nieces can look back at their childhood photographs posing in the garments she had sewn.

Alice was preceded in death by husband Irving “Pete” Peterson, parents Thomas and Miriam Jenkins, brothers John and Joseph Jenkins, sisters Anna Carlson, Winifred Clem, Ruth Jenkins, Marjorie Jenkins, Orpha Goodhue, and Barbara Veitch. Survived by generations of nieces and nephews.