Beatrix Mae Peterson, 54

Beatrix Mae Peterson, 54, passed away on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010, at Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Kalispell. She was born on Feb. 10, 1956, in Kalispell, the daughter of Phillip and Rodessa (Bartel) Norton. She was the fifth of six children. She went to Peterson Elementary School and graduated from Flathead High School in 1974. During her senior year, she moved in with her sister Jan and her husband, and was a tremendous help with the children, Renee, Derek and Denise. Soon after graduation, she moved to Juneau, Alaska, to live with her sister Linda and worked in various state offices, eventually being promoted to assistant to the commissioner of Waters and Harbors. In Alaska, she fished for halibut, picked wild blueberries, and totally threw herself into a lifestyle foreign to her. She quickly made many friends. One of her biggest joys was baby-sitting her niece Alycia who was just a toddler. The joys they shared are unforgettable and cherished. When she returned to Montana, she found a job on the pot lines at the Anaconda Aluminum Plant. She prided herself on being able to work as hard as men and appreciated the reward of a larger paycheck. She moved to Beeville, Texas, with a friend and soon met her husband, Greg. He was from Shelby and was in the U.S. Navy. Soon he was stationed in Whidbey, Wash., and she followed. On Jan. 1, 1987, they were married in Kalispell and moved again to another assignment, eventually ending up in Handford, Calif. Greg was shipped out during Desert Storm and was away for quite some time. She found work in various print shops in the area. One of her proudest accomplishments was designing a brochure for the U.S. Park Service. Her two sons were born in Handford; Phillip Gregory on June 20, 1992, and Jan-Michael on April 26, 1994. When Greg retired from the Navy, the family moved back to Montana " God s Country. Greg soon looked for something to do and found work at Stoltze Lumber and Bea worked at the Town Printer in Columbia Falls doing what she loved most, printing. It wasn t long before she went looking for a bigger operation and more responsibility. She found it, the Kalispell School District 5 print shop. She enjoyed the challenge of the computerized printer and enjoyed her work there until ill health forced her to leave. During the past several years, Bea suffered many health issues and became mostly homebound. Bea always put others before herself, especially her sons. She loved personal pictures and crafts her sons made and she posted them proudly. She loved animals and birds. As a young child, she fell in love with chickens and had to be watched closely so she wouldn t wander away trying to catch one of the Banty chickens the neighbors let run loose in their yard. She also loved crafting. Each of the older nieces and nephews received a cherished Christmas stocking that she worked for hours on as she expertly embroidered and secured multiple sequins onto the design. Before she fell ill, she and Greg enjoyed riding their Harleys. It was always her intention to get well enough to do that again. She was extremely intelligent and could read and write at a very early age. She had a great imagination, a quick wit and an infectious laugh. She was watched over by her oldest sister Jan and the two had a special lifelong bond. She was the best mom her sons could have hoped for. She was loved by many and will be missed by all who knew her. She is survived by her sons, Phillip and Jan-Michael; her mother, Rodessa Norton; her sisters and their spouses, Jan and Roger Weller, Linda and Art Hayes, Cynthia and Terry Dell, all of Kalispell, and Deborah Norton of Geraldine; and brother, Steve Norton, of Seattle. She is also survived by Renee Weller, Derek Weller, Denise and Duane Schrade and their children Abby, Anna and Andrew, Andrea and Rob Benitz and their children Lilly and Hayden, Alycia Hayes and Kimberly Brown. She was preceded in death by her father, Phillip Norton, in 1985; and her husband, Gregory Peterson, in 2008. A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, at Glacier Memorial Gardens. A reception will immediately follow at Woodland Park Pavilion. Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for Bea s family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to view Bea s guest book, offer condolences and share memories.