Peggy May Arness

1925 - 2025

Peggy May (Petersen) Arness was born on the 14th day of July 1925 in Seldovia, Alaska, and passed away peacefully at her North Kenai homestead on September 27, 2025, with her granddaughter Rebecca at her side.  She was the second child of Allan and Jetret Petersen.  Her mother was a teacher and her father worked in her grandfather's general store.  The first ten years of her life were spent in Seldovia with her parents and her older brother Jimmy.
In the mid-30's, Peggy and her family relocated to the village of Unga on the Aleutian chain when her father was made the Federal Marshal for approximately half of the islands in that group.  They lived on the island of Unga thru Peggy's teenage years…which coincided with the years of the Second World War.  She completed the 10th grade in the schoolhouse at Unga and then "commuted" to Seattle to live with family and complete her high school education.  Following her first year of college in Seattle, she returned to Unga where the Territorial Superintendent of Schools bestowed upon her a special dispensation to begin teaching elementary age students in the school there.  It was during this time period that she met, fell in love with, and eventually married a young soldier turned supply ship captain named James V. Arness.  That proved to be a 60 year long arrangement which was interrupted only by his death in 2006.
Following the war, the young newlyweds relocated to Seattle for a couple of years…where their first son, James Allan, was born.  Turns out that the city was not their calling, so they once again returned to Alaska.  This time, with the community of Kenai as their destination with the thought of homesteading in the wilds of the growing south central Alaska community.  They identified their homestead as a parcel of land which bordered upon Salamatof Lake (now generally known as Lake Arness) in the area north of Kenai.  No roads reached the property during their first couple of years there…but, they built the required structure and moved onto the property in 1951 (the same year as her second son was born).
After several years of rustic, homesteader type lifestyle, Jim took a notion that he wanted to build a dock on Cook Inlet which would serve the shipping needs of Kenai, Soldotna, and the Swanson River oilfield.  What followed was indeed a chaos of oil discovery in Cook Inlet, a profusion of new oil drilling platforms directly offshore of the newly created dock, and a business which they operated for the next ten years.  They sold the Arness Terminal (now OSK dock behind Nikiski High School) to Foss Launch and Tug, and with a huge sigh of relief returned to their home on the lake.
Peggy was not one to sit for long, however, so soon thereafter (early '70's) she hired on as the general manager of the Kenai Chamber of Commerce.  During her time there, she was the driving force behind getting the "Moosemeat John" cabin moved from the north road into Kenai and set up to serve as the Chamber office in Kenai.  With her guidance, the "Christmas Comes to Kenai" annual celebration was begun and then expanded into what it continues to be these 40 years later.  The membership and activities of the Chamber grew and flourished during her tenure there.
After deciding to turn over her Chamber duties to Sue Carter, Peggy was encouraged to apply for the job of being the local representative for the offices of Senators Stevens and Murkowski as well as Congressman Don Young.  The specific years she was involved with that endeavor have blended into a 100 year long life…but, she thoroughly enjoyed her time in the role and was known as a reliable advocate for local folks needing help from the Congressional Delegation as well as indispensable for the Congress people themselves when they were in town, or looking for Kenai related information.
As will happen many times, Peggy became distracted from work by the advent of grandchildren and so she retired in order to devote her time and caring to her elderly mother, her husband Jim, and her six grandchildren.  She proved herself to be equal to all of those tasks as well as continuing her exercise routines and lawn maintenance chores on the homestead.
After the death of her mother (1991), followed by her husband (2006), Peggy dedicated herself to the "old ladies luncheon" every Thursday and what became an "avalanche" of great grandchildren (apparently now peaked out at 15), she lived out the balance of her 100 years preparing and maintaining an individual scrapbook for each one of them as well as their parents!  Oh, and did I mention her 30 minutes every morning in her cherished "Endless Pool" right up until May 10 of this year??
Two months ago, on July 14, 2025, the Kenai Chamber and the Kenai and Nikiski Historical Societies sponsored an amazing 100th birthday party for Peggy.  It was very well attended by her family and many, many people from the community who knew and loved her.  In recognition of that celebration, there will be no further celebration of her life.  She did it right!  She got to be there and hear what people said…I'm afraid we couldn't hope to improve upon that.
Peggy was preceded in death by her parents, Allan and Jettie Petersen, as well as her husband of 60 years, James.  She was also preceded by her much-loved son Jimmy, as well as her brother Jimmy Petersen.  She is survived by her son Joe, her grandsons James and Jake, granddaughters Rebecca, Jessica, Melissa, and Jennifer.  The aforementioned great-grandkids, Aiden, Alice, Etta, Rosemary, Oliver, Nora, Jojo, Zealand, Leif, Bryar, Lia, Eileen, Waylon, Farrah, and Paige.  All that supplemented by extended family and a serious group of special friends…including her 97 ½ year old sister-in-law, Joan (Arness) McDaniel.
 
In lieu of flowers, please find a child, grandchild, or great-grandchild and give them a big hug!!  Grandma was always a great source of those!!!