Janet Ann Peterson

Janet Ann Peterson was born at Virginia Mason Hospital on June 18th 1944 to August John Peterson and Mary Ann Steiner. As a child Janet attended View Ridge Elementary in Bremerton, Washington before going to The Rainier School for the Mentally Disabled in Buckley, Wa. Janet had many hobbies she would spend hours doing yarn like crafts, latch hook rugs, jigsaw puzzles, word searches, bowling, watching Denny Hamlin on NASCAR, watching and listening to the Mariners, Seahawks, and Huskies play. She was involved at the Star Center in Tacoma doing their daytime craft program on Tuesdays and going to Adult Day Health on Mondays and Wednesdays in Tacoma where she would take the shuttle and had certain favorite drivers she would talk about. Some of Janet’s favorite things were taking care of her Calico Cat named Ruby and helping her niece with Gus the parrot. She loved previous pets as well especially a poodle named Ms. Murphy. Television shows like The Lone Ranger, Little House on the Prairie, Shirley Temple, I Love Lucy and The Golden Girls were on a constant loop in her room and you could hear her making comments all the time about what was going on. An important lesson Janet left us with is that even though she had special needs it taught us humility and to not treat anyone differently based on their inabilities. She will always be remembered for her quirky quotes like “Jeepers Creepers” & “What-a-ya do in that case” and how she could always make us laugh. Memories of Janet: Rick, Connie and Deb remember being out in the garden following Grandma as she picked peas and the kids and Janet would be snatching them right out of her bucket leaving a trail of empty pods in their wake. Connie and Deb remember spending the night on many occasions at Grandma and Janet’s and sleep with auntie and laying in bed giggling about God knows what for hours after they were supposed to be asleep. They were Janet’s personal dolls and played dress up and even wore wigs too. Janet and her mom used to ride the bus around Bremerton carrying garbage bags to collect aluminum cans while out and about going to listen to music or visit friends at the various nursing homes. If the kids were riding along with Grandma or Aunt Janet and they would see something that caught their eye in a dumpster they got tossed in to fetch it. Janet’s Great nieces Danicka and Ericka were Janet’s playmates as they grew up when Janet came to live with her niece Debra in 2006. On regular occasions she would be seen playing basketball or Barbies with Danicka and Ericka would regularly color her hair or paint her nails up nice. She was preceded in Death by her father August and mother Mary Ann and her brother Orin A. Conrad. Janet is survived by her Nephew Richard Orin Conrad (Great niece/nephew Nick &Sally Breckenridge), Niece Connie Foster (Great nephews/niece Andy, Shelby & Ashley), and Niece Debra C. DeBoer (David) (Great nieces Ericka & Danicka). There has been a donation made in Janet’s memory to the Kitsap Fire and Rescue by Pat Hatfield, a family friend. In lieu of flowers you can make a donation to any mental disability charity of your choosing in Janet’s name.