Jeanne Phyllis Peters

Jeanne A. Peters was born January the fourteenth,1926 at Nicholas Senn Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska to parents Richard Anderson and Mary Hauner. One of two children (sister Marian Anderson Platt), Jeanne would call Omaha home for life raising her family with her high school sweetheart. A free spirit by nature and designated “Little Rascal” by her father, Jeanne was full of personality, joy, and maybe a little mischief! Jeanne adored her father, an immigrant from Sweden at the turn of the 20th century who went on to work for Union Pacific. Jeanne would say she was never the same when her father died young and suddenly when she was only 16. Those that knew her might say tragedy never made her waiver…but rather emboldened her faith, spirit, and her curiosity for life’s surprises, pleasures, and relationships. Jeanne will no doubt be remembered as a friend to all, not just to her closest friends including her Central classmates and treasured Monday afternoon bridge club but also to her children, grandchildren, and extended family. Jeanne loved a joke, was full of humor, and kept current often times over a ritualistic evening vodka on ice. She was an engaging conversationalist and if the chitchat sputtered Jeanne wasn’t afraid to ask more poignant questions, such as an infamous, “Are you happy?” Jeanne grew up in midtown Omaha at 33rd and California and attended Yates elementary school. She went on to attend Central high school where she met Kenneth Reed Peters in Spanish class. Both would say this was their first date and things escalated quickly for the couple. Before Jeanne graduated from Central high school in 1943 she was already in a “long distance” relationship with her sweetheart. Not long before Ken enlisted in the United States Air Force which would soon take him to southern Europe, it’s rumored the couple took to marriage in secret much to Jeanne’s mother’s chagrin. But Jeanne couldn’t keep a secret, and it wasn’t until 8 days after Ken’s return from the war that they were formally married at St. Margaret Mary’s church June 23rd 1945. In her formative years Jeanne took an interest in volleyball, fashion, learning her mother’s excellent cooking and sewing skills, and was active in the Spinsters club. She attended Duchesne College in Omaha and pictures will show that not only was she quite social flashing a brilliant smile, but she was loyal and always family centered. Ken and Jeanne started their life in Omaha after World War II both taking early jobs in the insurance industry, her at Mutual of Omaha. The couple moved around midtown before eventually feeling the call of a more country life at 114th and Dodge where they would start “Tuckaway” dog kennel. In 1955 they opened a pet shop in the Beverly Hills Plaza shopping center at 76th and Dodge called “This N’ That for Pets”, only one of two in town. While their business grew so did their family with children: Kenneth Reed Peters, David Charles Peters, and Mary Leah Johansen as well as special nieces Sharon Van Vors and Marsha Gunia. Jeanne was instrumental in the success of her business and growing family. She had learned pet grooming in the early 1950’s eventually teaching the trade to her mother, children, and nieces. Whether it was feeling too close to town or a calling to her family’s Lindsay, Nebraska farming roots Jeanne speared a move west to property at 156th and Maple St. among rolling hills and open fields. Here they started a new dog kennel and grooming facility, Clearview Pet Care Centre. Jeanne took naturally to tenderly caring for her pet clients and the comfort of their families. She and her husband continued to work hard even transporting pets to and from the city. Her business eventually passed to her daughter and husband and granddaughter and husband, now in its third generation of care. And so did her values. Jeanne could recall memories of the Great Depression and a sense of growing up on the “southside” of the tracks. She instilled strong values of duty, integrity, organization, and family in those around her. Jeanne and Ken vacationed in Okoboji Iowa, the place where they had honeymooned. In 1976 they bought their first motorhome and extended their sights to Mexico, Alaska, Nova Scotia, and several trips to the west coast. Whether they were trading in old models for new or getting rid of problem coaches we’ll not know for sure but they surely enjoyed their share of adventures and always included family. Jeanne and Ken travelled extensively entertaining and supporting their children and nine grandchildren at horse shows, spring break trips, and off-roading trips in Mexico. They spent many of their winters in Arizona and visiting dear friends, including Jeanne’s childhood sidekick Betty Lou Jacobson. Ken and Jeanne always said they had seventeen reasons (children, grandchildren and spouses) to stay in Omaha and they never left. At home in Omaha, Jeanne was active in various fundraising efforts, Bible studies, and other social groups. She would later take in her own mother as she battled and later passed from cancer. Jeanne was this family’s matriarch with her husband by her side for sixty-two years. She was always involved. She was always strong. She was always a comfort. She shared a fervent faith and belief in God. She loved her family and all her friends and shared in their joys and sorrows. She was blessed with tremendous wit, a strong presence, and infectious laugh. Her spirit and mind were forever sharp and to the day of her peaceful passing January 20th 2015. Thank you to all for your thoughts, prayers, and remembrance. Rest peacefully dear daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend to us all. Jeanne A. Peters, of Omaha, 1/14/1926-1/20/2015. Preceded in death by husband Kenneth R. Peters and sister Marian Platt. Survived by children: Reed (Skeener) Peters, David (Janis) Peters, and Mary (Kenneth) Johansen, all of Omaha, special nieces: Sharon Van Vors of Broken Arrow, OK and Marsha (George) Gunia of Omaha and other nieces and nephews, 9 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren. Memorial Mass Monday, 11 AM, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Elkhorn. Private interment. No visitation. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the St. Patrick’s Catholic School Fund.

Jeanne Phyllis Peters

January 14, 1926 - January 20, 2015