FREDA PETERSON

March 28, 1928 - February 22, 2017 OKLAHOMA CITY Freda Rose Carley Peterson, age 88, was born March 28, 1928, in McPherson, KS. Her parents were Pansy Mabry Depew and Lemuel Alphus Carley. Lem worked as a jobber (wholesaler) for Phillips 66 fuels, and Pansy cared for their children. Freda grew up in McPherson as the fourth-oldest of six sisters. A seventh died from scarlet fever as an infant. Freda enjoyed telling stories about her childhood during the hard times of the Depression. While in high school, she worked at King's Drug Store as a soda jerk. During this time, she met her future husband, Paul Peterson. After Paul's return from service in WWII, the two married on September 3, 1948. Their wedding took place in McPherson's First Presbyterian Church. The young couple first lived in Ellinwood, KS, where Paul worked for Stanolind Oil & Gas Company. Work soon took them to Tulsa, Duncan, and finally Oklahoma City, OK. All three of their children, Gary, Kris and Julie, were born there. After their move to Oklahoma City, Paul and Freda started their own business. Their company, Oil-Law Records Corp., provided legal information and documents for the oil and gas industry. They ran the business, with help from their children, until shortly after Paul's death in 1990. Under different ownership, the company remains in business today. In 1940, Freda made her first visit to Silverton, CO. Two of her sisters eventually settled in Silverton, and Freda would return there countless times. She fell in love with Silverton's people, history and mountains. Pursuing an interest in genealogy, Freda found that there was no organized record of those buried at Hillside Cemetery, the town cemetery of Silverton. With Paul's help, she compiled and published a list of 1,750 burials, mostly based on tombstones. In later editions, she expanded considerably on her original 1981 work, adding many burials unmarked by tombstones, as well as biographies for those buried. In 1990, she was honored by the American Association for State and Local History for her work. Her published research helped many to find long-lost relatives and made her many new friends. Freda organized annual work days for cemetery volunteers, to help with tree trimming, tombstone repair and cleanup. Proceeds from her book sales went toward cemetery maintenance and the purchase of tombstones for graves that had long been unmarked. After Paul's death in 1990, Freda began to spend more time in Silverton. She met Brison Gooch, a history professor who had retired there. They married on Freda's 70th birthday, March 28, 1998. In Silverton, Freda volunteered for work in the county's historical society. She focused on computerizing the society's extensive archive of historical documents and photographs. She continued as director of the archive until poor health intervened. When she could no longer tolerate Silverton's high altitude, she returned to Oklahoma City, where she spent the remainder of her years with family. Freda was preceded in death by her parents; by sisters, Virginia Lee Carley, Marjorie Baudino, Jimmie Olson, and Teddie Todeschi; by her first husband, Paul Martin Peterson; and by her second husband, Brison Dowling Gooch. Freda is survived by two sisters, Jeanette Moors and Una Bee Carley-Miller; son, Gary, and daughter-in-law, Georgiana; son, Kris; daughter, Julie Hinton, and son-in-law, Rick; granddaughter, Krista Weirich; grandson, Kevin Hinton, and his fiancee, Becca Powell; and many nieces and nephews. Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association or the charity of your choice.