Judith L. Petersen

Surrounded by her loving family, Judith (Judy) Lammers Petersen, age 80, passed away peacefully on March 28, 2022.  She was born in Stillwater, Minnesota to Frederick and Janet Lammers (Shirley).  Judy was an avid naturalist and her proximity to the beauty of the St. Croix River shaped many lifelong passions, including canoeing, boating, bird watching, gardening, and especially painting.  Her love of life and people led her to study nursing at The University of Wisconsin, River Falls.  It was here that she met her soulmate and husband of 59 years, Howard Petersen.

Judy is survived by her husband Howard, her loving sister Jani Johnson (wife of Jack, decd.), her beloved daughters Martha Petersen-Hurley and Jennifer Tepper, sons-in-law Bob Hurley and Bill Tepper, cherished granddaughters Madeline and Isabel Tepper, and nephews Joe (Debbi) Johnson, Jeff Johnson, Halvar Petersen, great niece Samantha Hunton, and great nephew Nick Johnson.

Notably, Judy was an accomplished artist.  She was an active member of the Lakes Region Watercolor Guild for over twenty years.  She loved sketching and painting with friends, and continuously shared her works with family, friends, and community.  While painting was one of her great joys Judy had many other interests, such as golf, tennis, bridge, traveling, entertaining, opera, music, and playing competitive board games with family.  She was a parishioner of Santa Maria del Popolo Parish, and a proud volunteer for the Condell Hospital Women’s Auxiliary Board.  She also loved to spend time with her friends and neighbors, often taking boat rides on Diamond Lake.  With incredible foresight and imagination this is where she and Howard established their home, raised their family, and loved every minute of it.

Those that knew Judy could not help but notice her “joie de vivre.”  As a five-time cancer survivor, spanning over 25 years, Judy knew the meaning of celebrating life and embracing it!  She challenged herself and those around her to expand their horizons, seek and learn new things, and travel to distant lands.  Judy had a great sense of adventure and loved the element of surprise, including “mystery trips.”  Even though battling cancer was a major part of her life Judy never let it define her and, if anything, it prompted her to do even more.  She never complained and with boundless courage faced each day as if it was a gift.

Our family expresses our deepest gratitude to all the friends, relatives, neighbors, and medical professionals that helped extend her life more years than anyone thought possible.  We love you very much and look forward to sharing your “Judy” stories the next time we see you.

Visitation for Judith will be Thursday April 7, 2022 at the Kristan Funeral Home 219 W. Maple Ave. Mundelein IL 60060 (2 blocks West of Route 45 on Route 176).  Funeral Mass will be the following day Friday April 8, 2022 at Santa Maria del Popolo Chapel 116 N Lake St, Mundelein, IL 60060 at 10:00 AM.

For those unable to attend the visitation a live stream will be shown below.

For those that are unable to attend the funeral mass click this link https://youtu.be/Vg-ZXJjIiDQ

In lieu of flowers it was Judy’s preference that donations be made to help end childhood cancer to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.