Harriett Luella Petersen
May 30, 1914 - March 21, 2013
Obituary
Harriett was born in Seattle on May 30, 1914, to Savilla and Arthur Hopton. Her grandfather was a member of the Seattle Fire Department and fought in the Great Seattle Fire in 1889. Harriett grew up in the Rainier Valley and attended John Muir School and Franklin High School. She loved sports in high school and participated in basketball, track, and tennis. She enrolled at the University of Washington, then married and had three children, Valerie, Shirley and Bob. When her first marriage ended, she met and later married P. Albert Petersen. Pete and Harriett lived in Enumclaw while Pete worked for the US Forest Service. During their early years together, Pete and Harriett spent many days backpacking and horseback riding in the Cascades. Harriett loved exploring the mountains and the forests with Pete. They moved to West Seattle in 1959 where they built a lovely home and raised Niels and Mary. Harriett was active in her children’s schools, PTA, Boy Scouts, Hiawatha Garden Club and First Lutheran Church. Harriett’s passion for gardening led her to become a nationally recognized flower show judge and designer. In the early 1960s, Pete and Harriett bought a cabin on Harstine Island in Puget Sound where they would later buy a home and retire. The family spent nearly every summer at “the Island” with Harriett chasing kids while cooking on a wood stove with no electricity or running water. (Those utilities were eventually added). The cabin was always filled with family, friends, food and late night games of Hearts and Cribbage. When Harriett and Pete retired to the Island in 1978, Harriett began raising rhododendrons and created two new varieties of plant. Pete and Harriett planted a Christmas tree farm and fished together almost daily. Harriett loved to cook and welcomed friends to her home with her famous homemade pies. After Pete died in 1987, Harriett traveled to Great Britain to trace her family’s roots in England and Ireland. She located the house in Derby, England where her grandfather was born. She also traveled to Denmark and spent time with Pete’s relatives, getting to know the country and its traditions. On a trip through the Panama Canal, Harriett met Dr. Robert Linn from Elizabethtown PA. Over about 12 years, they traveled together throughout the US and to the Holy Land, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Theirs was a deep and abiding friendship. In recent years Harriett lived at Merrill Gardens where her life was enriched by the friendship of Frank Landucci. Together Harriett and Frank painted with acrylics and made pillows, toys, and quilts for the children at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Harriett was a sports fan and closely followed the Mariners, the Seahawks and the Huskies. Harriett was happiest when she was serving others and when she was surrounded by family, especially her twenty grandchildren. She is survived by her sister, Betty Moore, of Eugene, OR. She will always be remembered with love.