Jean Annette Peterson

Jean A. Peterson, age 74, widow of Lloyd "Snook" Peterson, Watertown, formerly of Milbank and Clark, died peacefully on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 in the Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls. Jean had suffered a massive stroke on Sunday, October 7th at her home in Watertown. Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 11AM in the United Methodist Church at Clark with the Reverend Jen Tyler officiating. Special music will be presented by Wendy Christman and Jan Hanson. Private burial will be held in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Clark. Per Jean's request to all of her children, there will be no visitation. She was born Jean Annette Huisenga on January 13, 1938 in Graceland Township, northwest of Henry, SD, the daughter of Marvin and Eva Pearl (Healy) Huisenga. She was schooled in the area and in other areas of South Dakota as her family moved within the state. The family returned to the Garden City area when she was in the 7th grade and then in 1955 she graduated from Garden City High School. She worked for a year at the KELO -KDLO-TV station at Garden City along with Bart Kull and Dave Dedrick. On June 16, 1956 she was united in marriage to Lloyd "Snook" Peterson at the Methodist Church in Garden City. The couple lived at Clark where she was a stay- at- home Mom and then in 1963 they moved to a farm northwest of Garden City. In 1965 they returned to Clark where they lived until moving to Milbank in 1975. While living in Clark she worked in the office at Fairfield Foods and then in 1974 became the study hall monitor at the Clark High School. When the couple moved to Milbank she began an employment with Milbank Mutual Ins. Company, now called State Auto Ins. Co. Snook died in April of 1995 and Jean continued living and working in Milbank. She retired after spending 22 ½ years as a data processor. In November of 2006 she moved into an apartment in Watertown where she has lived since. Jean will long be remembered by many people and in many different aspects, not only for her wit and telling it like it is but for her collection music boxes, her extensive jewelry attire and her love of Barbie dolls for the granddaughters, most, if not all, coming from a great bargain at a local thrift shop! Another favorite pastime of hers was decorating her apartment, from birds to dolphins and many things in between. Her love of photography was second to none. She enjoyed using cameras of all sizes and vintages, her traveling with friends to other areas of the United States all enlightened her picture skills. In her free time at home she enjoyed jig-saw puzzles. Jean was an extremely active person getting around and visiting many people in the entire area, from assisted living center to nursing homes. She thoroughly enjoyed sending out cards to many and being reminded of their dates by dozens of sticky notes in her apartment. Many of you will also remember her musical talent, being able to play the piano and in years past, she and her brother Larry, played and sang for countless funerals and weddings in the area. She was a member of the Red Hat Society in Milbank, an art club in Watertown and the Ins. Co. Retiree's Club. Preceding her in death were her parents, husband, grandson, John Audus and a brother, Larry Huisenga. Grateful for having shared in her life are her children, Jodi (Bob) Audus of White, Chris Peterson of Brookings and Daren (Deb) Peterson of Twin Brooks, SD, 10 grandchildren, Dawn, Wendy, Shelly, Hannah, Amber, Chase, Holly, Nicole, Tyler and Alysa 8 great-grandchildren, Cody, Cassidy, Ciarra, Cooper, Layla, Jude, Bailey and Kenley and her sister-in-law, Judy (Bob) Helmer of Rapid City. She also leaves many family members of Snook's including Joyce Lien of Clark and Harriet Hanson of Vienna. The Furness Funeral Home of Clark is serving the family. There is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com.