Teri Peters – Devoted to her animals and friends

Teri Peters passed away on October 22, 2002. She was well-known
and loved as the “morning person” at the Jimtown Store, and was
especially admired for her blueberry corn muffins. At a recent
gathering to honor Teri on November 10, 2002, Jimtown Store owner
Carrie Brown spoke of her departed friend: “Thank you for coming to
honor Teri Peters, our longtime friend and employee. We thought
that she would like us to have a simple gathering to remember her
in a place that she loved, surrounded by her friends and neighbors.
As you may know, Teri didn’t have any close relatives, in fact she
thought of us all as her greater family, and in fact our community
is a wonderful family. Teri loved being a part of this community
and her work here at Jimtown was really about connecting with
people in the deepest sense. Animal lovers like Teri don’t always
seem to love people as much as their beloved horses, dogs, and
cats, but I know that Teri was truly touched and grateful for your
collective kindness and support and was full of love for us. She
may have appeared brusque at times, but her suffer-no-fools
exterior masked a soft interior and a classic heart of gold. Unlike
W.C. Fields, some of her best friends and admirers were children,
and one of her best qualities was loyalty. I will always treasure
her support and never forget how much she adored John. Teri always
wanted to live in the Alexander Valley and have a cottage with a
front porch and a garden, a place to sit and relax at the end of
the day with her dog and friends. Thankfully she was able to enjoy
that kind of companionship and beautiful weather for these last few
months. I know that she treasured all your visits and thoughtful
gestures – so many of you that I won’t even try to name and number.
Like many of us, Teri found pleasure in doing and accomplishing and
as Michelle can testify she never stopped tending her garden and
looking ahead to Spring, which says more about her outlook and
attitude than anything else. In fact, Michelle isn’t quite sure who
Teri managed to corral into digging four tree-sized holes along
their front fence, but Teri told me her vision – to plant four
fruit trees – a Santa Rosa plum, a flowering cherry, a white peach
and a yellow peach to add to her view. So I propose we plant them
this winter and look forward to enjoying the blossoms next spring
with Teri.”