Obituary of Marlene Rosemarie Peterson (nee Franklin)

Marlene Rosemarie Peterson (nee Franklin)

Born July 16, 1930 in Havre, Montana; Died July 09, 2024 in St Paul, Minnesota

Marlene is survived by and deeply missed by children Timothy Peterson, Rebecca Peterson (Eric Freudenheim); grandchildren Noah Selman (Gaurangna Madan), Dalia Selman; siblings Dolores Beaman, Charles Franklin (Betty), Robert Franklin (Donna), and Theodore Franklin; and many beloved nieces and nephews, and extended family members.

Marlene was preceded in death by her parents, George and Goldie Franklin; sister, Evelyn Ferroni; husbands Donald Peterson, Jack Wolters; brothers-in-law Howard Wise, Keith Boyington, Lee Beaman; sister-in-law Mary Franklin, son-in-law Stewart Selman.

A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, August 16th 2024 at 10:00 AM at Central Presbyterian Church, 500 Cedar Street, St. Paul, MN  55101

Marlene made her exit just one week shy of her 94th birthday. A remarkable and understated woman, she lived a life full of hard work, adventure, love and generosity.

Early on, her family struggled in the depression era moving frequently looking for the means to support a growing family, and at times having little to eat. As the second oldest in a family of six siblings, she was designated the indoor helper, while her older sister Delores was sent out to help their father with the outdoor work. She and her siblings went to many different schools throughout Washington state and Idaho. The constant moving bonded her to her siblings and her connection to them remained a touchstone throughout her life. She worked hard at home and, in her teens, outside the home to help support the family, and to pay for college and seminary tuition.

She was a life-long member of the Presbyterian church beginning with her baptism as a teenager in Rearden, Washington, and she decided to pursue a career as a teacher in a Christian school, or perhaps as a missionary. She attended Whitworth College and graduated from Washington State University (Cheney) in 1952. To continue her education took the 3-day bus ride where she enrolled at New York Seminary in New York City. There she met fellow student Donald Peterson who became an ordained minister. They graduated and married in 1955, and they began their partnership of ministry. Their work brought them to eastern Pennsylvania, where their two children, Timothy and Rebecca, were born.

They then moved to Ohio where, after a 5-year stint at the Venice Presbyterian church in Ross, Ohio, they accepted a role at the Kennedy Heights Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. They spent 20 years there becoming beloved and valued members of the church and community. She participated fully in the life of the church in activities such as teaching Sunday school, and teaching in a summer reading program that operated out of the church. In addition to her work at the church, she began full-time teaching in the public schools in 1966 as a classroom teacher. In 1975, she got a master’s degree in Education and moved into a position as a reading specialist working one-on-one with children who struggled to read.

In 1985 they moved to Adams County in eastern Ohio where again they were dividing their time between smaller churches and she did some substitute teaching in those districts. In 1993, Don was diagnosed with ALS, and passed away in 1994 with Marlene caring for him at home until the end. Having few ties to Adams County, she packed up her belongings and moved to Minnesota to be with her daughter Rebecca’s family, including her grandchildren, Noah and Dalia.

But as she said in a letter to family, “the open road beckons” so at age 70, she once again packed up her belongings and bought a 36’ RV, car in tow, and headed out to experience life on the road. She frequented RV clubs and gathering spots, often doing some volunteering along the way. One of those stints was with Habitat for Humanity building homes in partnership with families in need. While working on one of these projects in Las Cruces, NM, she met Jack Wolters. They began to travel and work together, marrying in 2012. During this time she and Jack satisfied more of her wanderlust traveling to Hawaii, Alaska, Baja California, the Caribbean and Europe. She gave up the RV lifestyle in 2010 and bought a condo in St Paul, MN, and she and Jack became “snowbirds” living in Minnesota in the summer and traveling to Arizona in the winter. Sadly Jack passed away in 2014. She then returned to St Paul, Minnesota to be a fulltime resident in 2015.

Outwardly reserved and unassuming, she was nevertheless passionate, adventuresome and independent. She was a natural collector and cataloguer, creating collections of shells, bugs, rocks, gems, decorative artisanal items and even post cards, stamps and coins. She loved to wander antique stores and gem/mineral shows. She reveled in the natural world having a wide knowledge of flora and fauna, and was an avid bird watcher. She admired all sorts of artisanal crafts, and learned to weave eventually buying a large standing loom. She became devoted to family genealogy and worked with other family members to trace her family roots, again organizing all the information into numerous binders. It was a momentous discovery when they found out that their given family name of “Franklin” was not the real name of their father but who’s surname was in fact “Fuqua”.

She gave generously to her family in many ways and supported many charitable organizations which helped those with all kinds of needs and causes. No doubt her family’s years of struggle gave her a real understanding and compassion for those in similar circumstances.

Her final years were marked by increased closeness to her grandchildren, and she delighted in being able to witness her grandson Noah’s marriage to Gaurangna Madan. Despite increased hearing loss she continued to engage in the usual social and religious activities she normally enjoyed. Giving up driving was a serious blow to her sense of independence, but she bore it with grace, and it meant more time spent with daughter Rebecca. She remained quite self-sufficient however, taking care of herself and her affairs very well until her last few months of life. It was only when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor six weeks before her death that she truly became dependent on anyone else.

Her faith was core to her life, and the Christian principles of faith, love and charity guided her in all areas of her life, and she was determined to make a difference in the world in very tangible ways. She was a natural beauty outwardly and inwardly, stubbornly independent and faithful. We can only hope to live our lives half as well as she did.

Memorials preferred to Habitat for Humanity or Doctor’s without Borders, two of Marlene’s favorite charities of the many to which she contributed.