Nancy H. Peterson, 75, of Mystic, a retired executive of community-service organizations in southeastern Connecticut and New York State who was well known for her professional and volunteer work, died February 20, 2007 after a brief illness.
Mrs. Peterson served for many years as administrator for non-profit organizations, most recently as executive director of Community Mental Health Services of Southeastern Connecticut. She retired from that position in 1990. She also had been associate director of the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut. She served in similar capacities in community service organizations in New York State and Panama before she and her husband, Jack Peterson, a school teacher and administrator, moved to Ledyard in the 1980s, then moved to Mystic in 2005.
Even in retirement, Mrs. Peterson devoted much of her energy to community service as a volunteer. She was active in the Mystic Congregational Church and it’s women’s group for 20 years. Through that association, she was a founding member and strong supporter of Housing Opportunities for People, or H.O.P.E., a group that develops housing for needy families. She also developed and participated in a program at the church in which volunteers read stories to children at the Norwich Family Shelter. Mrs. Peterson also was on the boards of directors of ARTREACH and Mother’s Place and a member of the New London Women’s Network.
Mrs. Peterson was an accomplished free-lance writer. She was a guest columnist for The Day from 1992 to 1994, writing about topics ranging from the arrival of her granddaughter, Hannah Noel, on Christmas morning, to the proportion of women faculty members in colleges. She wrote a series of articles for the newspaper on non-profit groups in southeastern Connecticut.
She was proud of her Dutch heritage, and attended her family’s 350th reunion in 1985 in Middleburg, Holland.
Mrs. Peterson was born in Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 15, 1931, daughter of the late Raymond and Anna Holcomb. She graduated from the University of Rochester Phi Beta Kappa and later earned a Master of Science degree in management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., in 1988. The Petersons, who recently celebrated their 54th Wedding Anniversary, met in high school and were married December 27th, 1952.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sons, Eric Peterson with his wife, Laurie, of Portland, CT; the Rev. Matthew Peterson, with his wife, Karen of Philadelphia, PA; two daughters, Carrie Peterson, of Locke, N.Y., and Laurie Peterson, of Troy, N.Y.; a sister, Julie Fleischmann and her husband, Richard, of New York City; brother in-law William Peterson of Winter Haven, FL; sister in-law Delores Peterson of Lexington, NC; 4 grandchildren, including Cole and Hannah Peterson of Portland, CT; two great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
A Memorial Service will be conducted at the Mystic Congregational Church on Saturday at 11am. The family will gather privately for burial at Avery-Stoddard Cemetery, Ledyard.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Mrs. Peterson’s memory may be made to Housing Opportunities for People, 187 Williams Street, New London, CT 06320, Mystic Congregational Church, 43 East Main Street, Mystic CT, or Hospice, P.O. Box 902, Uncasville, CT 06382.
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