Barbara Peterson Obituary

BARBARA KING PETERSON Passed away December 17, 2005 at the age of 75. A native of Griswold, Iowa, Barbara spent all but four years of her life in the Bay Area, attending Hoover Elementary and Burlingame High before moving to Stern Hall at the University of California at Berkeley and earning a BA in Journalism in 1952. Post-graduation, she flirted briefly with the idea of becoming the next Edward R. Murrow before moving to San Francisco and launching a career as an Executive Assistant, rising through the ranks at Del Monte and GMAC before "retiring" in 1961 to marry Eugene and move back to Burlingame. She embraced her second career as a housewife and mother with her trademark enthusiasm, offering her energy wherever and whenever asked, from "designated driver" for school field trips to Girl Scout Leader, while throwing children's birthday parties whose scale and grandeur have yet to be matched. After seeing her children off to "maturity," she then launched her third career, overseeing the Sisters of Mercy Retreat Program before finally(!) retiring for good. For the past 15 years, she lived life to the fullest, traveling extensively with her husband and spending time with her cherished friends in the Great Books, Dollfins and "Seam & Scream" social clubs. A complex woman, she was not without her contradictions - she loved the colors Blue and Gold but disdained all things Red, she loved animals but was wary of "donkeys," and she managed to blend an angelic disposition with a devilish wit. She is currently spending time with the extended MacGregor clan (and her beloved companion Sparky), watching Fox News around the clock, and generally enjoying her second life as a tall blonde woman. She will be profoundly missed by her friends and family, including husband, Eugene; sister, Lenore Pieper; children, Eric and Janis, and grandchildren, Chase, Cassandra, and Cade. Visitation will begin at 5:00 p.m. this Thursday, December 22nd at Crosby- N. Gray & Co. Funeral Home in Burlingame, to be followed by a recitation of the rosary at 7:00 p.m. A memorial Mass will be held Saturday, January 7th at 2:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Angels Church in Burlingame, where she faithfully attended Mass for the past 40 years. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Peninsula Humane Society or to The Faithful Fools Street Ministry, 234 Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. Arrangements by Crosby-N. Gray & Co. Burlingame, CA, 650- 342-6617.