1927 – Sept. 25, 2021 

Mary Justine Peterson, a long-time resident of St. George, Utah, passed away Sept. 25, 2021 at the age of 94. Mary was born in Iowa to parents Ronald and Carolyn Woodke. She grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, Lexington, Kentucky, and Albia, Iowa. Mary graduated at the top of her Albia High School Class of 1944. She was a student at Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa) until she married her husband of 60 years, Emery (Pete) Peterson. They spent the next decades raising a family in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mary and Pete moved to St. George in 1994. 

Mary enjoyed family vacations and camping trips, traveling to almost all of the fifty states. She initiated every Christmas season by baking dozens of cookies for family and friends. Mary was an avid puzzle solver, completing a crossword puzzle and Sudoku (in ink) daily for many years. In St. George, she joined the “Knotty Knitters” at the Good Shepard Presbyterian Church, and over the years knitted hundreds of children’s caps and scarves to be distributed to underserved communities. 

Mary is survived by her son Steven Peterson (Peter Jaret) of Petaluma, California, and daughter Susan Licher of St. George, Utah; and grandchildren Lucas Wood and Zachary Wood. Mary was preceded in death by her parents and husband; her sisters Dorothy Lee of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Lyn Jakubczak of St. George, Utah; and her brother William Woodke of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 

Mary was a sweet soul and will be missed greatly by family and friends. At her request, there will be no public service.