Jeannette Paukert Peterson, 84, of Decatur, GA, formerly of Spokane, WA and Starkville, MS, passed away Monday September 9th at her residence. A celebration of life will be held at the chapel at Smoke Rise Baptist Church 5901 Hugh Howell Rd, Stone Mountain, GA 30087 on October 3rd at 11am. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you honor Jan’s memory with a donation to Watermoon Refuge: https://watermoonrefuge.org/donate/ where Jan spent many hours in meditation with her best friend Lotus.
Obituary
Jeannette Paukert Peterson, 84, of Decatur, GA, formerly of Spokane, WA and Starkville, MS, passed away Monday September 9th at her residence. A celebration of life will be held at the chapel at Smoke Rise Baptist Church
Mrs. Peterson, born in Salem, SD, grew up in Tacoma, WA, daughter of the late John and Katherine Paukert. She was preceded in death by her husband of 28 years, John H. Peterson, Jr. Mrs. Peterson is survived by one son, Jonathan (Lori), grandson, Christian, her brother, Jerry Paukert (Jeanie), sister-in-law, Cathy Maze (Hugh), brother-in-law, Nick Peterson and several nephews and a niece.
Jan attended Gonzaga University in Spokane on a voice scholarship, earning a B. A. in English in 1962 with a minor in Philosophy, Education and Fine Arts. Jan began her career teaching children of migrant workers and aerospace engineers in Lompoc, CA. Jan met John, an Army officer who was a close friend of her brother’s. They married in 1964 and moved to Athens, GA in 1963 to attend graduate school at University of Georgia.
Their married life together started with a cross-country “Honeymoon Trail” with his parents and sister, towing a trailer of wedding gifts from Tacoma to GA - Jan’s introduction to how close southern families could sometimes be. Transitioning from a west coast city to a small Georgia town involved deciphering the Southern dialect and learning 1960’s southern social formalities. But Jan quickly learned to love southern cooking. Her introduction to Southern humor came on a canoe trip with Jan and Cathy on the Flint River, where John made sure to talk about snakes falling from bushes as he paddled deliberately into the river bank full of thick branches. He was the only one who thought it was funny.
In Athens, Jan worked as a Graduate Assistant at the university library 1963-1965 until the university discovered that she was expecting as in the 60’s, there were rules against working when pregnant. She and John happily welcomed son Jonathan in 1965 and she somehow balanced new family life with finishing her masters degree in Education 1968.
They moved to Philadelphia, MS where her husband worked with the Mississippi Band of Choctaws, and Jan used her many skills working as a research assistant for a Choctaw Indian survey that involved interviewing, coding data for computer analysis and editing two major manuscripts. They then moved to Starkville, MS where John joined the faculty of the Mississippi State University department of Anthropology and Jan taught high school English. She later joined the faculty of the Communications department, teaching public speaking and working as a tutor-counselor for Choctaw students and administered a pilot teacher training program. During a year of sabbatical, they lived in Washington, DC working in the office of US Congressman Jim Weaver and enjoyed exploring the area’s parks and museums. Years later, she and her grandson Christian shared a special vacation in Washington together.
Jan left Mississippi State to teach Reading and Composition at Mary Holmes College in West Point, MS from 1985-1989 andserved on the Steering Committee for the Southern Accreditation of Colleges and Schools Self-Study. A second sabbatical saw Jan and John move to Harare, Zimbabwe in Africa. While her husband taught at the University of Zimbabwe, Jan learned to use a word processor, writing letters of their adventures to family. She took classes in the local Shona language and tutored a chief’s son in English composition. They traveled throughout the country’s parks, aiding researchers in counting wild animals at watering holes, hiking Mount Inyangani, the highest mountain in Zimbabwe at 8, 504 feet and hosted some professional colleagues, Jan’s father & Jonathan on visits. They loved their time there and planned to return to Africa at some point.
After Zimbabwe, Jan taught Sociology and English Composition at Wood Junior College in Mathiston, MS while working on certification for teaching English as a second language. After her husband’s death in 1993, Jan worked at a day-care center in Starkville and coordinated an after-school tutoring program before moving to Spokane to be closer to her family for a number of years before moving to Decatur, GA to be near her son and his family after Christian’s birth.
One could say Jan Peterson was a bit of a Renaissance woman. She absorbed all she could in visiting Hungary, Greece, South Africa, Mexico, Germany and China. She tried ethnic foods, met people & learned about their cultures, beliefs, art and artisans. She had fun purchasing art and jewelry from these countries and gifts for family. Her own world became more inclusive as her travels allowed her to see the world through the eyes of others. She grew as a person by putting herself in situations where she was the one who was different, who had to adapt to the ways of other cultures.
Jan was a dedicated Tai Chi practitioner, believing it to benefit mind, body and soul. She enjoyed her group which made a trip to China to study with her teacher’s teacher during an ancestral celebration. She competed multiple times in various states and in the Bahamas, winning awards and took great pride in winning an award for her sword form (the same sword she used to cut her 80th birthday cake). Through the years, Jan’s family enjoyed camping and kayaking throughout the southeast and even in Zimbabwe. Jan loved sports, especially the Braves, her 3 Bulldog Teams - UGA, Mississippi State and Gonzaga and spent many weekends watching her grandson Christian’s soccer and football games from youth through high school.
Jan published two books of poetry and was a regular member of Atlanta’s Java Monkey poetry nights. She played chess and loved teaching the game to her students through much of her life. She was an avid reader, focusing mostly on devotional books and spirituality, supporting her deep religious faith. Those beliefs, along with family and special friends, gave her the strength and resilience to endure the many challenges she faced during her life. She loved walking along the beach and found wisdom and solace in its timeless messages of beauty.
Music brought Jan great pleasure and she sang Ave Maria at church the morning after her wedding. She often sang at an Irish pub in Spokane, was in a UGA production of The Sound of Music & sang in the choir at Virginia Highland Church. Among the music she enjoyed was singer Susan Boyle, spirituals and African music, and of course Glory Glory To Old Georgia was a favorite song. She took full advantage of Atlanta’s many theaters and concerts.
Like images in a kaleidoscope, Jan Peterson’s life was made of colorful pieces, full of changes made by slight turns and filled with endless possibilities. She was vulnerable yet resolute when defending her beliefs, an extrovert who knew the value of looking inward, a professional woman yet comical in clown costume bringing laughter to patients in hospitals. Jan was that rare woman who didn’t define herself by the standards of other people. She sought and found a unique path that brought her joy and purpose and followed it to the end.
Jan Peterson will be remembered for her vibrant personality and boundless capacity for joy, her love of daffodils, gardenias, and family.
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