Wanda Mary Peterson Hollensteiner, 87

Wanda Mary Peterson Hollensteiner passed peacefully at home in Rollins, Montana, surrounded by her loving family and devoted dog, Mox IV, on Sunday, May 31, 2020.

Though very physically limited by Parkinson’s Disease, she lived an extraordinary and adventurous life until the very end, arriving in Rollins from Chicago via her first RV trip just two days earlier.

Wanda was born to Alf Victor and Mary Wanda Peterson in Chicago on June 9, 1932, during the Great Depression. Her list of many accomplishments began at two years of age when she was voted the “World’s Most Beautiful Baby” at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1934, and she remained beautiful her entire life. She was baptized at the Fourth Congregational Church in Chicago and her faith always remained important to her. Her first prayer was “God bless mother and daddy and make me a good girl.” And a “good girl” she was...gifted with musical talent, she had perfect pitch, made her first recording at age four, and was a brilliant pianist.

Not only was Wanda a “good girl” but she was also an “amazing woman.”

Wanda attended Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, and double majored in psychology and art. She was on the Homecoming Court and accompanied the Beloit’s Men’s Choir, the Choraliers. In 2009, the Wanda Peterson Hollensteiner Art Gallery was founded at her alma mater to renovate the museum and to fund ongoing restoration of significant works of art. Wanda and her college girlfriends founded the Beloit Bridge Club (aka BBC), and while they never played bridge, they met regularly and shared a lifelong friendship.

In her early twenties, the adventurous Wanda went to Germany for two and a half years to work for the U.S. Army Special Services. Based primarily out of Amberg, she was the highest-ranking female officer at the Service Club where her job was to provide entertainment and cultural experiences for off-duty soldiers. When asked about her experiences, she laughingly responded, “Ever been on a field trip with 30 GIs?”

After Europe, she returned to Chicago and met Jim Hollensteiner at a reunion party for North Park Academy, where they both attended high school. Wanda’s beauty, charm, and yellow sweater immediately attracted Jim’s eye. They became engaged shortly thereafter and married six months later on Dec. 6, 1958, at the Fourth Congregational Church. They honeymooned on a ski trip to the Laurentian Mountains of Canada.

Wanda became a mother to five children even as she continued with her own musical interests, teaching myriads of students over 35 years. She was part of the leadership of the Northwest Music Teachers’ Association and the Chicago Lyric Opera. She also played piano on a regular basis for patients in the Elgin State Mental Institution. In addition, she founded and led the Honey Lake 4-H Club in Barrington, Illinois.

During her lifetime, Wanda visited over 60 countries. Unbelievably, while Jim was studying for the Illinois State Bar Exam, she took three of her children – ages one, three, and five – and her disabled mother on a four-month tour of Western Europe. As a “People-to-People” Ambassador for piano teachers, she traveled to Russia and Eastern Europe. She also had many adventures with her family to Africa, South America, and Europe, including a “Ladies Day Out “ month-long trip to Eastern Europe with her two daughters.

She was an organizer, contributor, and promoter of the James & Wanda Hollensteiner Foundation which supports approximately 35 organizations annually in Northwest Montana as well as a number of other charities across the country. Significant local beneficiaries of the Foundation include the Northwest Montana History Museum, Kalispell Regional Medical Center and Flathead Valley Community College.

Wanda enjoyed spending her summers with family at their home in Rollins where she loved tending to her garden, boating and water-skiing on Flathead Lake. Glacier Park was a favorite place of hers to hike and look at wildflowers. She made many trips to Sperry and Granite Park chalets and loved to visit her children when they held summer jobs in the park.

Her five children are grateful for her bringing them into this world. Throughout her life, she impressed upon them to value and nurture the gift of family and friends, to help those less fortunate, and to go beyond societal norms and expectations. She encouraged them to dream their own dreams, to live their own lives, and to have fun along the way. She was not only their mother, but also their friend and confidante.

Wanda was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease 17 years ago and despite burdensome physical challenges, she was an inspiration to all as she continued to laugh, never complained, and lived for the next fun adventure. She said: “It is what it is” and “You have to make jokes.” In her last year of life, she drove a golf cart six miles down U.S. 93, operated an excavator, bounced on a trampoline, floated in an inner tube on Flathead Lake, dressed up as the Queen Mother for Halloween, jumped into a pool in her clothes into the arms of a random man, and even rode piggyback five days before she passed.

Wanda is survived by her husband, Jim, of 61 years of marriage; her five children Lisa, Jamie (Diane), Jena (Pend Armistead), John, Andrew; her grandchildren Logan, Connor, Thomas, Andrew, Matthew, Walt, Will and Anna; and step-grandchildren Scott and Sarah Armistead. The family is very grateful to her caregivers who cared for her so lovingly the last few years of her life. “The caregivers are all so serious. I play tricks on them and get them every time,” Wanda said with a smile and a laugh.

Memorial contributions in Wanda’s honor may be directed to the Northwest Montana History Museum – 124 Second Avenue East, Kalispell, MT 59901. Memorials will be held in Kalispell and Barrington, Illinois with details to follow.