Patricia Frances Peterson

Patricia Frances (Hamm) Peterson was born in January of 1945 in Fresno, California and grew up in the Easton area of Fresno County with her Parents, Adolph and Thelma (Smith) Hamm. She passed on March 12th, 2026, in Visalia, CA. Patty went to public schools in the Fresno area including Washington Union HS and Roosevelt HS. She graduated from Central California Commercial College (4C’s) in business procedures. She also took many classes at Fresno City College and Fresno State University achieving the equivalent of an education degree in English as a second language. She loved animals of all kinds and worked beside her father on their small farm in the Oak Park area. In 1986 she married John Peterson in Fresno, and they lived 40 years together. Patty and John owned a cabin in Camp Nelson; CA and she authored the “Let’s Cook” column in the Upper Tule News for a number of years. In 2005 she retired after 22 years as office manager and secretary to the board of directors of Pinedale County Water District in North Fresno. After retiring she moved to Visalia, CA with her husband John and lived there until her passing in 2026. Patty never had any children but mentored numerous young girls as if they were her own. She is survived by her niece, Diana Codding (Santa Rosa, CA), her Stepdaughter, Laura Peterson (Kaneohe, HI) and her cousin Doug Schulltz of Fresno as well as her husband, John Peterson of Visalia. Throughout her life she enjoyed the outdoors from backpacking to camping and finally owning mountain property. There will be no services to mark her passing. Her ashes will be interred at the Fresno Pet Cemetery with the remains of her many pets.