Phila Sue Peterson Dunlap

1929 - 2015

Phila Sue (Petersen) Dunlap died peacefully in her sleep Sept. 22, 2015.

She was born in Idaho Falls, Aug. 8,1929, to Helen Jane Altmyer Anderson and Walter Andrew Anderson. Sue grew up in Shelley and Idaho Falls, and, after her mother's death, she was raised by her sister, Shirley.

She married Garth Petersen of Idaho Falls in 1948, owner of the City Cleaners. They enjoyed an active social and outdoor life. Sue was the first woman ski school director in the U.S. at Kelly Canyon and produced a ski show on KIFI-TV that ran for several years.

In 1963, she married John Dunlap of Jackson, Wyo. They blended her two children, his two children and one of their own into a happy, energetic family. Together they owned and operated the Jackson Cold Storage. Sue later designed and built Teton Meadows Apartments. She loved adventuring with her family, horseback riding from the desert southwest to Alaska and was active on the board of several Jackson organizations.

In 1983, she suffered the tragedy of losing her young daughter, Heather, in a small aircraft accident. After John's death, Sue built a winter home in Mexico and traveled worldwide. Even in the last weeks of her life she was always hopeful of another trip to Bali; her view of life was always looking forward. Her life was celebrated at a family gathering following a graveside service at the South Park Cemetery in Jackson, Sept. 27.

She is survived by her son, Richard "Dick" (Gretchen) Petersen; daughter Paula Christine "Kristi" (Art) Denton; stepdaughter, Dawn Ann Dunlap; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Sue was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands, Garth Petersen and John Dunlap; her daughters, Heather Elizabeth Dunlap and Dallas Ann Dunlap Robertson; sisters Shirley (Bud) McBride and Jeanne Bradley (John) Larson; and brother Walt (Liz) Anderson.

The family requests that any remembrances be made to St. John's Hospital Foundation, PO Box 428, Jackson WY 83001