The Family of Patricia (Patsy) Elaine Peterson sorrowfully announces her passing on Friday, May 16th, 2025. She passed peacefully surrounded by her loved ones and lifelong friends.
Patsy was born in Gary and attended Horace Mann High School where she met the love of her life, Richard, during her freshman year. Patsy and Richard married on October 28, 1967. They built their only home together in Hebron, raised their family, and cultivated a life full of family, friends, travel, and connection. Connection was one of Patsy’s superpowers, and she wielded it effortlessly from a place of deep caring for others. She never met a stranger, just a friend she never spoke with before. Her infectious warmth and openness pulled stories from people, sparked laughter, called forth a few tears, and left a lot of people feeling better than they did before God brought this spunky, little woman with a big heart into their day.
Patsy dedicated much of her life to service, most recently working at the Lake County Probation Department, where she spent twenty-five years as a secretary and office manager. Prior, she held secretarial roles at Boone Grove Middle School, the Christ Presbyterian Church in Winfield, and US Steel. Her spirit and work ethic left a lasting impression wherever she went.
Patsy is survived by her loving husband of fifty-eight years, Richard Peterson; daughter Catherine Hunter and partner Tim Sickles; daughter Kelly Babincsak and husband Jarrett; sister Barbara Terry and husband Jim; and her treasured grandchildren, Anna and Ethan Hunter, and Savannah and Grace Babincsak. She was preceded in death by her brother John Jenkins, mother Mary Jenkins (nee Nemtuda) and father Clarence Jenkins.
We invite all who knew and loved Patsy to join us for a Memorial Mass on July 10, 2025, at 10:00 am at Nativity of Our Savior Catholic Church, 2949 Willowcreek Rd, Portage, IN. We will also be honoring her with a Celebration of Life on July 10, 2025, at Hawthorne Park Community Center, 500 Ackerman Dr, Porter, IN, from 4:00-7:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you honor Patsy in your own way – plant a flower, have a glass of wine on the beach, or chat up a perfect stranger – and in your doing welcome her more deeply into your heart.
