AUGUST 18, 1933 – APRIL 12, 2024
Rowena Peterson, 90, passed away suddenly on April 12.
Rowena was a loving wife and mother, and was known among family, friends, and neighbors for being kind and helpful, as well as for her love of cooking and her many creative talents.
The youngest of seven children, she was born in Mamaroneck, New York, attended public schools there, and graduated from Mamaroneck High School, where she was voted Best Dressed — an honor she especially valued because she made her own clothes. After graduating, she worked for a number of years for the Helmsley Organization in New York City.
She met her future husband Robert Peterson at a dance at the Polish Community Center in Yonkers. The two married at the Playland Casino in Rye, and settled in Yonkers.
After the birth of three daughters Rowena concentrated on homemaking and overseeing Robert’s many home renovations as well as the family garden and beloved pets. She sewed and did needlework, and her projects ranged from beading her own evening gown for a bowling dinner to crocheting her daughters’ funky 70s vests; from creating dolls clothes for friends grandchildren to recovering the family’s couch.
Rowena’s favorite activity was cooking and her knew-by-heart repertoire ranged from Italian favorites (raviolis, potato gnocchi, homemade pasta, meatballs, braciole and the long-cooked sauce for them), as well as the dishes she learned from family, friends, and cookbooks — Swedish meatballs, potato blintzes, cream puffs, and many more.
Throughout her life, Rowena loved the beach, weekend rides and crabbing “up the line,” visiting relatives, and other travel activities with Robert and/or her daughters, especially to Baltimore (for more crabs), Sweden, Italy, and Newport. In recent years, she enjoyed and was grateful for the company, kindness, phone calls — and haircuts! — of so many of her longtime Yonkers neighbors as well as friends, family, and much-valued home health aides, especially Mary and Yvonne.
Rowena is survived by her three loving daughters, Valerie Peterson, Dr. Lisa Peterson, and Beverly Peterson, as well as many nephews and nieces.
Rowena is interred at Mount Hope Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, next to Robert her also recently deceased husband of nearly 65 years. For family and friends wishing to honor Rowena’s memory, donations can be made to Calvary Hospital.
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