Elizabeth Blossom Peterson, 1919-2005

Mrs. Elizabeth Blossom Peterson, 86, the widow of Paul W. Peterson Sr. and a resident of Salemtowne Moravian Retirement Community, died Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005. The daughter of Fred Willis Blossom and Claribel Glass Blossom, she was born Aug. 21, 1919, in Syracuse, N.Y. She spent her early life in upstate New York where she was educated. She met her future husband, Paul W. Peterson, who was her church choir director, and married him after World War II. They moved to Winston-Salem in the summer of 1946 when Paul joined the music staff of Salem College. Mrs. Peterson was secretary/treasurer of the First Presbyterian Church Kindergarten Program before retiring as a secretary at Wake Forest University in the Classical Language Department. A member of Home Moravian Church, she was very active in the life of the church. Mrs. Peterson is survived by two daughters, the Rev. Carol P. North and husband Fred C. North of Connecticut and Mrs. Jean P. Fanning and husband John Fanning of Florida; a son, Paul W. Peterson Jr., and wife Wendy of Cary; seven grandchildren (that's me); four great-grandchildren; and a sister, Ruth Eddy, of Florida. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at Home Moravian Church, with the Rev. Scott Venable and Chaplain Linda Brown of Salemtowne officiating. Burial will follow in Salem Moravian Graveyard. Memorials in memory of Mrs. Peterson may be made to Salemtowne Moravian Retirement Community, 1000 Salemtowne Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, or Home Moravian Church Music Department, 529 S. Church St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101. (Vogler & Sons Main Street Chapel)