In loving memory of
Nancy Peterson

• April 19, 1937
• -
• August 22, 2025

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Nancy passed away peacefully at her home in Altamonte Springs on the morning of August 22, 2025 after a brief battle with cancer. It was in the comfort of her home that Nancy returned to hospice care—surrounded by love, with Kathryn, Morgan, Kolby, devoted friends, kindhearted neighbors, and a small but enthusiastic fan club of furry companions all by her side.
Nancy is survived by her sons, Kolby and Toren; stepsons, Dana and Noel; Kolby’s children, Lindsey and Logan; Dana’s children, Kelly and Katie; and Noel’s children Graham and Stephan; her brother, Tom Kolby and his children Brock and Shae; and her niece, Julie Peterson Foley; and all of their families.
Nancy is also deeply missed by her housemate Kathryn Marsh and Kathryn’s daughter, Morgan. When Morgan was born Nancy returned to the Florida Keys to help Kathryn and Morgan’s dad, Brian, care for little Morgan. After several years with them on Ramrod Key, Nancy left to care for her mom and aunt Caroline “Carrots” in Las Vegas. Then to Solana Beach and after that, several years in Imperial, Missouri. Finally, in 2020 Nancy moved to Altamonte Springs, Florida to make her home once again with Kathryn and Morgan, (along with five dogs, including Cody, two cats and approximately 100 orchids).
Knowing and loving Nancy was not always easy, she was, like all of us, beautifully human. She had her share of struggles and flaws: impatient, uncompromising, quick-tempered, and sharp-tongued. But she was also deeply generous, loyal, dependable, quick to make friends, and talented in ways that made life richer for those around her. She cooked unforgettable meals, and found joy in beauty, especially the kind found in travel, nature, history, and cuisine (which worked out well for her adventurous husband, Don).
Talk to Nancy for even a little while and you would hear her say “The whole nine yards!” to describe something truly impressive.
When Nancy heard that Toren’s grammar school in Santa Paula did not have a library she called the principal to ask why. The answer: no books. There was an airy library room surrounded by windows, a check-out desk, shelves, tables, and chairs. But no books, maps, puzzles, music, posters, or decorations. Nancy took action and within three months the school had a library, filled with everything you would expect – The whole nine yards.
Nancy loved to travel, entertain, and create beautiful things, often doing all three simultaneously. Nancy is famous for sewing hundreds of beautiful hand-stitched Christmas ornaments (often on camping trips or when taking a break from skiing). She loved plants, flowers, and landscaping. When Don became the General Manager of Venture Out resort on Cudjoe Key, Nancy happily took charge of the landscaping department for the 69-acre resort.
Nancy’s parties and her cooking were legendary. No matter the occasion, who the guests were, how sparse, lavish or exotic the location, they were the best, most spectacular event Nancy could pull off at that moment: weeknight dinner parties, birthdays for kids and adults, big blasts with live music in Santa Paula and Santa Barbara, impromptu live oyster bashes at Venture Out, even more impromptu parties teaching 20 college-kids to make tacos, roasting a large Thanksgiving turkey in a tiny, freezing-cold camper in Death Valley, Christmas dinners in a motor home at Mammoth or Bahia de Los Angeles in Baja, New Years, stuck in 2 feet of mud outside of Ensenada; Halloween Trick or Treat Chili parties for bored, cold, hungry parents in her garage in Missouri, and hundreds of other celebrations. Her Cub Scout den in Santa Paula, filled with boys who had never seen snow, went ice-skating at Christmas. Nancy lived to make her guests, friends and family feel special. She gave every event, everyone, every job The whole nine yards!
Don, the love of Nancy’s life, passed away in 1992 and his ashes were spread in the Gulf Stream off the Lower Florida Keys. Nancy’s wish has always been to join him, spiritually and physically. So that is the plan. Here is to hoping she learns to enjoy the one thing Don loved that she never really embraced, because if she is with Don, they’re going fishing.
If you wish to memorialize Nancy, please make a contribution in her name to a charity of your choice. The American Cancer Society, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, or a worthy animal shelter would delight her.