Obituary
Betty Ann Pettersen, age 80, of The Villages, Florida, passed away in her home on January 5, 2021. She was born in Queens, New York to Gudrun Andersen and Rasmus Pettersen, both Norwegian immigrants. She grew up in the Cambria Heights neighborhood of Queens and attended New York City public schools before attending the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland where she graduated in June 1963 with a Bachelor Degree in Education.
She pursued a physical education teaching career and taught in Corinth, New York for three years before moving to Norway where she taught for 15 years. Returning to the United States in 1982 she held positions in both the private and government sectors before retiring as a medical biller at the Veterans Administration in July 2006.
While she was a proud American, she was also very proud of her Norwegian heritage. She shared her mother’s Norwegian recipes and taught family members how to make Norwegian Christmas cookies. While living in Norway she became an avid cross country skier, coached a number of women’s sports teams and fully embraced the Norwegian lifestyle. She very much enjoyed living in The Villages and made many good friends since moving there in October 2012. She was active with bowling, golfing, and a member of a number of clubs in The Villages. She enjoyed watching NFL football and crocheting afghans, which she gave as gifts to relatives and her many friends. Her sense of humor, beautiful smile, willingness to pitch in and her loving friendship will be truly missed by all who she touched.
She is survived by her brother, Ralph Pettersen (Dee Dee), niece Brittany Burroughs and many loving cousins both here in the United States and in Norway.
A Celebration of Life and memorial service are planned at Baldwin Brothers in Spanish Springs on January 26th from 10am to 12 noon with internment at the Union Cemetery of Hellertown in Hellertown, Pennsylvania in the spring of 2021. She loved animals and the family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the either Kathy’s Kittykab Rescue & Transport, Inc. of Leesburg, Florida or the YOUR Humane Society SPCA of Lake Panasoffkee, Florida.
Kathy’s Kittykab Rescue & Transport, Inc.
PO Box 895152
Leesburg, FL 34789-5152
501(c)3 non-profit
YOUR Humane Society SPCA
994 CR 529A
Lake Panasoffkee, FL 33538
501(c)3 non-profit
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