Lorna M. Peterson

Lorna M. Peterson

Amherst, MA - So many who knew and loved her have admiringly described Lorna Mintz Peterson as a force of nature. On Saturday, March 16, at 84 years, Nature reclaimed her own. The beloved daughter of Sol and Sophie (Luloff) Mintz, Lorna was a proud Brooklyn migrant and Dodger fan. She was forever grateful to her parents for supporting women's education and she credited her teachers at Thomas Jefferson High for imagining beyond what was familiar. In her girlhood, she relished attending games at Ebbets Field and never forgot the time she and her friends arrived early and saw her heroes, Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe, and Roy Campanella step out of the catcher's Cadillac. Lorna said her early path in life had taken the B track, from Brooklyn to undergraduate years as a history major at Buffalo, to graduate studies in Slavic at Berkeley, and language study in Belgrade. The trajectory of her life took a sudden arc toward New England when she transferred to Yale to write her dissertation.

She met her future husband, Dale, in a course on Balkan history. They fell in love and played foot tag under the table during seminar classes. When she decided to marry Dale, she took her life and her family beyond the familiar. Fortunately, her Orthodox Jewish and his Unitarian parents were loving and large-hearted people and the young couple was embraced in welcoming arms. They married in 1966 and, when in 1968, Dale accepted a post at Amherst College, she was told it was probably only for two years. A city girl, she found herself a faculty wife, pregnant, in a small town with a doctorate in Serbo-Croatian literature.

Only Lorna, with her abundant energy and boundless imagination, could have turned what might have been a dead end into a life opportunity. A natural networker, gifted organizer, and social activist, Lorna made a distinguished career as an academic coordinator. At Mount Holyoke, she put together a national conference of women historians; at UMass, she worked closely with several deans at the School of Education; while doing all this, she pursued her love of teaching by taking on adjunct courses in Russian and Women's literature. Under the guidance of her mentor, Jefferson Murphy, Jr., she excelled at the art of collaboration. As Executive Director of Five Colleges, Inc. for 19 years, Lorna left a legacy of flourishing cross-campus interdisciplinary programs. Like Ben Franklin, Lorna always let other people take credit for initiatives she had undertaken. She made sure all five deans were in regular conversation and she organized productive summer retreats for all four Presidents and the Chancellor.

Lorna, beyond her professional career, was as successful as a parent, wife and community member. She did Little League and fostered backyard gigs for her two rambunctious musical sons, Zach and Seth. She patiently and lovingly helped Dale through the trauma of tenure and publication. She served many years in Town Meeting and was a steadfast champion of renters' rights. Lorna's passionate pursuit of justice and equity, her generosity as a volunteer led her to serve on many boards. Hampshire United Way, Cooley-Dickinson Hospital, UMass Fine Arts Center, Amherst ABC – all benefitted from fundraising campaigns she chaired. In retirement, her educational advocacy was unabated; she eagerly joined the Foundation Board of Greenfield Community College and served in various additional committees at the school until her death.

Lorna passed away peacefully under hospice care with her loving family at her bedside. She leaves bereft her adoring husband of 57 years, her sons, Zach and Seth and their wives, Allie Castino and Susan Lombardi-Verticelli. Her five grandchildren, Jesse, Calvin, Zora, Stella and Maddie, will miss her deeply. Lorna is survived by her beloved cousin, Lissy Friedman, and by her devoted brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Joan Mintz and their family.

A private family burial is planned. A public memorial service will be held in the Spring. Those who wish to make a donation in Lorna's memory may contribute to the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts (arfwm.org) or A Better Chance Amherst (amherstabetterchance.org)

Memorial guestbook at www.douglassfuneral.com