Geraldine Rebecca Peterson “Gerry” died Monday afternoon, July 28, 2014, at her beloved hilltop home overlooking the Ojai Valley with family and loving kitties by her side. Her final valley views were from a wheelchair, after a fall in late May left her with a fractured hip.
Gerry was born on a farm in Quakertown, PA, on April 5, 1920, to Frederick and Ellen Heffentrager, the eldest of three children. By the age of 22 she had completed nurses’ training at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Philadelphia and in 1944 joined the Navy as an officer and registered nurse. Gerry was very proud of her service as a Navy nurse.
An Ojai resident since 1961, Gerry’s busy life revolved around her family, her church, and the Ojai community. As a retired Navy nurse, she checked seniors’ blood pressures for over a decade at Little House during Help of Ojai’s formative years. As a member of the United Methodist Church, she supervised the church’s annual Fall Sale for many years. As an enthusiastic and concerned parent, she served on the board of the American Field Service and helped place students from all over the world with welcoming Ojai families. Gerry hosted two students in her own home. During the Ojai tennis tournament she always opened her home to house collegiate players.
Gerry’s keen attention to detail served her well as the family accountant for her husband’s development business and included time as hostess for the Oaks Hotel (now The Oaks at Ojai spa)—in 1965 a bankrupt downtown property bought at auction and brought back to life by El Roblar Corp., a community enterprise with 300 local shareholders headed by her husband Jerry Peterson, famed local architect Rodney Walker, and Keith Lloyd, a retired teacher. Gerry worked alongside her husband as he built, and together they operated and sold motels in Mojave, Lompoc, Ojai, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Fresno, and Hemet. As a talented seamstress, she filled her wardrobe with her own creations and fashioned prom dresses for her daughters.
Gerry was preceded in death by Jerry, her husband of 62 years, and her brother, Mark. She is survived by her brother, Ray; daughters, Carol, Peggy, and Nancy, and AFS-student daughter, Eva; and three grandchildren.
Inurnment will be at Nordhoff Cemetery with a private memorial.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home and Crematory, 3150 Loma Vista Road, Ventura.
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