She was born with Down Syndrome and was an immediate blessing to the family, for she loved life purely and simply and wanted to be just like her siblings. She was independent from the start. She taught herself to swim by sneaking into the family’s little doughboy pool when she was only three; took off on her tricycle to the other end of the neighborhood when she was six; and decided she had enough of “school” and quit when she was twenty.
Jamie lived with her family for many years, but eventually moved to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Home in Terra Bella, California, where many opportunities opened up for her and she met her best friend Wendy Woods. In 1981, she moved to Gateway House in Clovis and has called Gateway her home and the staff and residents there her other family ever since.
Jamie has won multiple bowling trophies and a gold medal in gymnastics in the Special Olympics at UCLA and has gone to Hawaii, Disneyland, and summer camps. She loved Christmas, whipped cream, popcorn—a lot, the color pink, the Fonz, Jesus, and, especially, her birthday. Her favorite songs were “Jingle Bells", “Jesus Loves Me,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Happy Birthday” — to Jamie.
We celebrate that on July 13, 2023, after an extended time of disability, Jamie went to be in the presence of Jesus, finally whole in body and mind. We love you, Shamus (our pet name for her).
Jamie is survived by her mother Genevieve Peterson; her brother Douglas Peterson; her sister-in-law Anoush Peterson; her sister Jody Solinski and her sister Pamela Lee.
Jamie was preceded in death by her father Charles Peterson.
Jamie also leaves behind numerous nephews and nieces who loved her dearly.
A Graveside Service for Jamie will be held Friday, August 4, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at Clovis Cemetery, 305 North Villa Avenue, Clovis, California 93612.
