Jeannette Armatis Peterson

Jeannette Loretta Christine Armatis Peterson Briscoe was born on Christmas Day, 1932 to parents John Armatis and Christine Krivolavek Armatis in the family home in Council Bluffs, IA. She was proud to tell you she was “the #10 kid” in a large Catholic family of 12 of Polish and Czech ancestry, and that she had to learn to stick up for herself at an early age with her seven older brothers. Jeannette’s childhood responsibilities included working in the garden and helping to collect eggs from the hens on the family’s in-town acreage. She attended Holy Family grade school and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. She enjoyed going to the Sokol Hall polka dances on Saturday nights for entertainment as a young woman. Music always played an important role in Jeannette’s life. She was gifted with a beautiful voice, and used it whether singing with her sisters while doing the after-supper dishes or singing in the high school choir. She was occasionally asked to sing at weddings, and her music teacher provided private voice lessons, encouraging Jeannette to participate in school district choral competitions. Jeannette worked as a secretary at Northwestern Bell Telephone company after high school and spent time in the “steno pool” having learned the art of shorthand. She met and married Daniel O. Peterson of Omaha, and together they had two children, Amy and David. The family took very memorable family vacations, tent camping for two-week stints across the western United States in a stuffed station wagon. The family years were spent attending to the duties of wife and mother, and she also found time to enjoy bowling and bridge when the children were younger. When Jeannette and Dan parted ways after the kids were grown, she returned to the work world in customer service for Omaha Steaks, and then rejoined the phone company. She ultimately retired from there and enjoyed her contact with retirees while in the Telephone Concessions department, assisting folks with the benefit of discounts on their bills for home phone and local services. In the late 1970s Jeannette met Bill Briscoe of Bellevue, NE. Their relationship of dating, maintaining independent households, having one of the world's longest engagements and then establishing one household was completed when they married on May 29th, 2002. Together they “cut the rug,” dancing at the local hotspots such as the Peony Park ballroom and Anthony’s Restaurant’s Ozone Lounge to groups featuring the Big Band sound. They both enjoyed caring for Bill’s lovely home and backyard complete with a pool. Pots of seasonal flowers were a special focus of Jeannette’s attention and care. The two of them enjoyed traveling together, especially on cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean and even Italy. Eventually Jeannette and Bill looked for someplace warmer to spend the winters in their retirement years. In the late 1990s they became snowbirds, and established themselves in the Highland Woods community in Bonita Springs, FL. There they enjoyed golfing (separately), an active social life with neighbors, and puttered with some part-time jobs. They enjoyed their years together until Bill's passing in January 2018. Jeannette returned permanently to the Bellevue home in the spring of 2021. She was an avid reader, keeping her own version of “a little black book” to track the books she had read and which authors she enjoyed. And close to her favorite sitting spot on her screened porch was a bird book and set of binoculars so she could watch their antics as she drank her morning coffee accompanied by a chocolate chip cookie. Jeannette maintained a faithful exercise schedule wherever she lived of walking or riding a stationary bike. After moving to Lakeside Independent and then Assisted Living she looked forward to playing bingo a few times a week and the varied live music performances that were available for residents. Jeannette passed on Thursday, May 28th, 2026 with family at her side. They like to think she made it in time for an anniversary glass of wine with Bill. She received loving, compassionate care from her Lakeside Assisted Living care partners and members of the Tabitha Hospice team. Jeannette is survived by daughter Amy Anderson (Mike), son David Peterson (Shelley Wolf), stepchildren Fara Stanley (Neil) and Bob Briscoe (Sandy), grandchildren Megan Romey (Ben), Mallory Blake, Colin Anderson, Grant Stanley, Laura Hindes (Jarod), Rachel Stanley and Megan Paschall (Barry), great-grandchildren Jessica, Jordan and Sam Romey, Daphne and Hazel Blake, and Naomi Hindes, sister Eileen Lewis and a large extended family of Peterson and Armatis, cousins, nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions for Jeannette may be shared to the family or sent directly to the Immanuel Community Foundation, 1044 N. 115th Street, Suite 500, Omaha, NE 68154, specifically designated for the Lakeside Community Fund. Visitation at 1 pm and funeral service at 2 pm to be held Friday, June 26th, 2026 at Immanuel: Lakeside Independent Living, 17475 Frances Street, Grand Hall, Omaha, NE.

Jeannette Armatis Peterson

December 25, 1932 - May 28, 2026