She was called many things during her life but I always knew her as "Mimi". I knew her for the first 12 years of my life. She was my grandmother. Here are some things I knew about her:
- She was born in Oklahoma on August 23, 1910
- She was an only child growing up (she had an older sister that died young)
- She married Ralph Peterson in California
- She attended nursing school, she received her RN degree
- She has three children, six grandchildren and nine great grandchildren
- She moved to California in the 1930s and resided there for most of her life
- She died December 31, 1986
- She is buried in Westminster Memorial Gardens, Huntington Beach, Orange County, California.
I remember visiting her for Christmas even though I was really young.
ReplyDeleteVickie
She is my maternal grandmother and I was told that as a toddler I came up with the nick-name "Mimi". I was Mimi and Poppy's first grandchild and always felt spoiled and very much loved even though she told me my parents were way too young to have children. I had the privilege of growing up relatively near Mimi and remember many a family gathering at the house on Manor St. in Altadena and then later in Huntington Beach. I got to spend the night at her house often, and loved to cuddle up under a goose-down comforter she kept on the bed in the front room, and then in the morning go jump in bed between her and Poppy. She got me interested in stamp collecting and ultimately gave her collection to me. I remember on a couple occasions, accompaning (sp?) her as she visited schools where she was the school nurse. I like to believe that I got my "nurse" genes from her. Mimi was the perfect grandmother- loving, caring, nurturing, funny, (and could laugh at herself), and had all the faith in the world in her grandchildren. I consider myself blessed to be one of them. Looking forward to the day when we meet again!
ReplyDeleteMiMi--Mom--"Margaret" Colter Peterson.
ReplyDeleteMimi’s nickname came from Laura the first grand child calling her that. The name stuck!
Mom did not like the name Dorothea. She went by Margaret and Peggy in nursing school from High School on. When getting married to Ralph, she took the chance to drop Dorothea and use her Maiden name as her middle name. So Dorothea Margaret Colter became Margaret Colter Peterson.
What I remember to be the most inspirational point in my life was Mom going back to college when I was going to Eliot Jr. High, in Altadena, CA. She worked full time, house wife (however, Dad – Ralph Peterson; helped with the house work, mostly cooking and cleaning), Mother, church volunteer and half time student. Mom going back to college, getting a BA degree and continuing on with graduate public health course work at Long Beach State College could not have been a better example that going to college was not going to be easy nor traditional. She loved reading, but really like nursing, health and public health reading and study the best. She often would share things she learned with me. I think secretly she want me to go onto a career in medicine. However, Laura Searls Jones, her first grand-daughter full-filled that dream for her by becoming an RN.
Both my parents were hard working, hard playing and enjoyed life to the fullest. Mom would never pass up a good card game. She liked card games from poker to Michigan Rummy to bridge. She even succeeded in teaching bridge to the first two grand children Laura and David Searls.
I always hoped I would be a loving, caring and inspirational parent like MiMi.
Bill Peterson – March 2011 More thoughts to be added...
Mimi was my mother-in-law. She was one of the "good ones". She once told me that she would like to live with me if something happened to Poppy. That’s quite a compliment. I loved to go shopping with her in L.A. She had a Rambler which later became ours. She loved clothes. She had two wool Ponchos she wore when it was cold. They were good looking. She loved to shop the May dept store. She had a way of getting everything she needed for a trip in the car. It was stacked around her, easy to get to. She wore things in layers, always a crocheted vest over a blouse, with a sweater and then her coat. she would slowly eliminate to the blouse. I remember that she and Poppy came down to Fl. when Bill was teaching at Emory Riddle in Daytona. We lived in Port Orange. Bill had just started that job and couldn’t get time off so I was delegated as tourist guide. We went to the glass bottom boat place, Oklahoma, I think, and I remember Clearwater and Tarpon Springs. We rented a Room in a B&B. I think I slept on a cot on a porch attached to their bedroom. This was BK. I remember a time when all 4 of us went to Busch Gardens , when beer was free and endless. Even thou Mimi and I didn't drink beer, we did then. Free IS free. She Tried to get up on a cement horse and even with all of us helping she didn't make it. It was a hoot. Years later, when we were living in Swartz Creek Mich. Mimi and Poppy came to visit and the guys didn't want to go with us to the movies to see 9 to 5. Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Pardon. It were so funny, we were laughing so hard on the way out of the theater, Mimi said she was going to have an accident. We had no other way but out , another crowd was coming in. I told her I had a towel in the car! We traveled every summer to see them in California. We played bridge and bingo at El Rancho clubhouse. One time Bill and I taught them to play Euchre. The guys never dealt! Mimi and I stole the deal from them the whole game. We went and visited Robert and Phyllis Colter, cousins of Mimi's, at their home in Palis Verdes. It was beautiful. A time or two we traveled with them back across the Canadian Plains to Mi. She was a great lady. One time she told me, when I was driving that she had heart problems stemming from rhumatic fever as a child, and that she had an anerysm and could suddenly die. Boy, was that something to consider. But i think she wanted to warn me so that I wouldn't feel as bad if I were the only one with her if it did happen. Whew! I can remember them coming to Linden after Margie was born. We sat in the kitchen canning fruits and vegetables, plums and tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteSandy Peterson March 2011
D.Margaret Colter Peterson was my mother. I'm the first of her three children. My mother was an RN and took care of our family plus all the neighborhood people, (injections, advise, etc.).
ReplyDeleteIn the spring of 1945, I was very ill with pnemonia. As an eight year old I was scared
and feverish. The family doctor made a house call and diagnosed my condition as serious. He spoke with Mom about a new medicine called penicillin. He said,"We'll try sulfa and if it doesn't work to cure the pnemonia I will consider the new antobiotics." Mom would smash the sulfa pill on a spoon and cover it with sugar and then feed the mixture to me. She wanted to help me get well so she told me a "secret". The secret was that she was pregnant. Later that year on October 28, 1945 she gave birth to my younger brother William Arthur Peterson (Billy). We were all so happy when he arrived.
Besides the medicine and the secret, Mom hand made me a Raggedy Ann doll, (18" long) with red yarn hair and a special dress. I still have the doll and treasure the fact that Mom made it and took such good care of me physically and emotionally.
Mom did many special things over my life from braiding my hair to welcoming me to their home after my daughter Laura was born (5/58). She and my Dad took good care of all us. Mom was not only my mom but a special person in my life. She was special to many family and friends. I think of her often.
Diane