Carolyn Jean Petersen

Carolyn Jean Petersen (Jean) was born on May 15, 1956 in Redding, California to Donald and Agnes Olson. She was raised on a farm in Redding with her four siblings, Ole, Becky, David, and Donna, where she spent a lot of time outdoors. Jean was an industrious, determined, and dedicated child, traits that would carry through her whole life. She never shied away from hard farmwork, and she was active in 4H Club, where she first developed her passion for sewing. Jean was devoted to her education, and she graduated from Shasta High School in 1974 with straight As.

Jean attended Shasta Junior College in Redding before transferring to UC Davis. In addition to continuing to excel in school, she enjoyed skiing and nights at the disco with friends. During the summer, she was a chip girl at a casino, giving her ample opportunity to spend time in Lake Tahoe, one of her favorite places. She graduated from Davis with a degree in textiles on June 17, 1978.

After college, Jean was ready go somewhere new, and she got a position at a dye house in Long Beach, California. She spent her first few years in southern California living in Long Beach and Huntington Beach, and she absolutely loved leaving her apartment and seeing and feeling the ocean every day.

At a singles seminar in Redondo Beach in 1980, she met Steve Petersen. Jean showed Steve all her favorite places in Long Beach, and they had fun going to the movies, going hiking, and playing racquetball together. On June 25, 1983, Jean and Steve got married at the top of the tram at Squaw Valley Resort, which has beautiful views of Lake Tahoe.

The first few years of Jean and Steve’s marriage were full of excitement. They went to Hawaii, took a skiing trip in northern California, and completed a significant renovation, transforming their house into the home where they spent their entire marriage. Jean and Steve welcomed their daughter Laura on November 29, 1987, followed by their son Craig on January 15, 1991. Jean always loved to travel, and she planned many family road trips around the southwestern United States and trips to visit family in northern California, Alaska, and Iowa. In 1997, Jean started working at the Frostig Center in Pasadena. She loved her job and her coworkers, with whom she enjoyed many memorable retreats, including a special trip to Ireland. She retired from Frostig in 2017.

Jean cultivated many hobbies throughout her life. She was especially devoted to sewing and quilting, making clothes for her children and their dolls, quilts for her family’s beds, and pillows and curtains for the home, among many other treasured items for family and friends. She was an active member of the American Sewing Guild, even serving as president of the local chapter. She also loved to read, bike, and garden. Another great passion was travel. She planned a solo trip to Iceland in 2003, kicking off her international wanderlust. In her later years, she and Steve went to Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada, as well as numerous trips around the country, even after her cancer diagnosis.

After a four-year battle with multiple myeloma, Jean passed away at home in Pasadena on July 2, 2021. She is survived by her husband of 38 years, Steve; children Laura and Craig; brother and sister-in-law Ole and Diana Olson; sister and brother-in-law Becky and Lloyd Pochop; sister Donna Olson; and eleven nieces and nephews and their families. Her family remembers her passion for new experiences, strong will, and surprising spontaneity.