Liliane Louise Petersen
July 16, 1925 - July 28, 2021
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Liliane Louise Petersen
July 16, 1925 - July 28, 2021
Obituary
Liliane Bozzalla was born in Grenoble in 1925. She was orphaned at age 5 and raised by her Aunt Jeanne on a small subsistence farm in the Alps of France. Life was hard but they managed with the help of the extended family. Liliane was smart and her aunt was able to send her to Catholic boarding schools for her education. In 1940, at the age of 15, her aunt became paralyzed and she spent 6 months nursing her alone, isolated by distance, the cold winter and the Nazi occupation of France. Her aunt passed away 6 months later and Liliane, emancipated at age 15, faced the rest of World War 2 on her own. Unbeknownst to Liliane at that time, she had partial Jewish heritage and so she was fortunate to have survived the war. She took the money her aunt had left her and used it to continue her education.
Upon graduation, she worked for a tourist resort on the beautiful Lac D’Annecy. She decided to go work in England to learn English, first as a ladies’ companion, then as a nanny, and finally as a student in a secretarial school. On returning to France, she worked at TWA on the Champs Elysée in Paris where she heard of an American Company advertising hefty salaries for bilingual secretaries. She was hired and moved to Casablanca, Morocco where she met her the love of her life, Frederick K. Petersen of Brooklyn, New York. They married in 1952, and their children Diane and Fred were both born there.
Liliane and Frederick lived all over the world (Morocco, Iran, Indonesia, Mexico, Australia) and finally moved to the US when Diane was 15 in order to provide a stable home and education for Diane and Fred in their high school years. Once they were off to college though, Liliane and Frederick returned to their adventurous lives and moved to Zaire where Liliane was the administrative assistant to the Project Manager of a huge development project. They finally retired to River Edge, New Jersey and Liliane proudly became an American.
After Frederick died in 1993, Liliane moved to Green Valley, Arizona where she built a rich life for herself, surrounding herself with wonderful and supportive friends. Each summer she would travel back to her small home in France where the rich memories of childhood were rekindled. Her family was blessed by the stories she told of her youth. They made their visits there come alive!
At age 90, Liliane moved to Mount Vernon, Washington in order to be closer to her children. But she continued to winter in her Arizona home and summer in her beloved old farm in the Alps. She continued to manage three homes right up until April of this year when she took a tragic fall. She lived a remarkable life, a strong independent and vibrant woman through and through. We will miss her so much!
She leaves behind her daughter Diane Staves, son Fred Petersen, 5 married grandchildren (Jason and Aarti Petersen, Jordan and Amber Petersen, Matthew and Adriana Staves, Jennifer and Rishi Mandal, Kelly and Nick Guy), and 8 greatgrandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, leave a story or a favorite memory you have of her in the online Guestbook. We will compile these in a book to remember her by.
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23 responses to Liliane Louise Petersen
Ingrid Ryan says:
August 9, 2021
Lilian had the most vibrant personality and with her warmth and charm she had the ability to make us all laugh and feel good about ourselves. She was such an amazing listener and had the unique talent of making me so incredibly comfortable I willingly wanted to share.
I absolutely loved spending time with Lilian at family gatherings.
I admired her greatly for her strength and resilience, but most of all I admired her for being such an elegant and classy lady. I feel abundantly blessed to have known her.
Diane says:
August 19, 2021
Thank you dear Ingrid. She REALLY liked you, I will always remember how you took her under your wing during Jenny’s wedding when Steve was so sick and I was struggling to represent the Staves. I have a picture of the two of you under the sun umbrella, she was basking in your loving attention. Happy memories.
love you
Diane
Pia says:
August 9, 2021
I’m still struggling to find words to express my sorrow that she’s passed from us . Liliane was part of our family for 50+ years and I will miss her so very much. Liliane had more energy than anyone I know , I always said I wanted to be just Liliane when I grew up!
I will miss our catch up phone calls and visits. Liliane will be forever remembered and forever loved..
“When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure”.
My sincere condolences to Diane, Fred , Bijou and family.
Diane says:
August 19, 2021
Dear Pia
Yes, we were all family for so long. I still miss your beautiful Mom so much. She was Mom’s best friend for so long, theirs was a bond that time and distance could never lessen. It is hard to believe they are both gone. The world seems dimmer without them. Thank you for loving my Mom. She certainly loved you.
Diane
Jason says:
August 9, 2021
Meme, it’s still hard for me to believe you’re gone. I guess I wanted to think this time would never come as whenever we talked or wrote or I saw you, you were just as healthy and youthful and energetic as you were when I was a kid.
I will especially miss our emails back and forth. Thank you for always being there, for supporting me when times were tough and cheering for me when things were going well. It meant more to me than I think you knew. You were classy and gracious, smart and funny, caring and kind, and most of all a unique and unforgettable individual to those who were lucky enough to know you. As I learned when my mom passed three years ago, when someone matters deeply to you their effect on your life carries on far after that person is gone. Your influence on my life will continue on, always. I will miss you very much.
Love, Jason
Diane says:
August 19, 2021
Dear Jason
your words brought tears to my eyes. She loved you and her belief in you never wavered. She too loved when she would get an email from you, especially when it was accompanied by pictures of your sweet children. Yes, she has left her imprint on our hearts. Her great grandchildren will be hearing Meme stories for years to come until they forget they never knew her directly. That will be part of her legacy of love
Diane
Mary Kilonzo says:
August 10, 2021
Liliane gave birth to such an amazing daughter- called Diane. I call her mom.. She came in my life and she became a friend and my mother indeed. She has made me who I am today. I have never met you in person but deep in my heart I knew I have a wonderful grandma…the stories I have been getting about you (grandma).. I had loved you so very much.. so loveable, beautiful ,wonderful and great person. I was well informed on what’s happening in your life. Rest in peace dear grandma.
Diane says:
August 19, 2021
Dearest Mary
thank you for the lovely words. Yes, I wish she could have known you, no doubt she would have been thrilled to have another granddaughter to love
Mom
kathy hartnett says:
August 12, 2021
What a truly amazing and remarkable life Liliane had. She lived quite a lifelong adventure. I shall miss seeing her and Bijou on their walks through the neighborhood, and our chats when meeting at the mailbox. She was such a dear – a truly lovely and classy lady. She will be missed by so many.
Diane says:
August 19, 2021
Thank you Kathy, she really enjoyed running into you on her walks and sharing her Bijou stories with you. She surely did love her little doggie. Fred and I were quite jealous, she called Bijou “Your little Brother”. God forbid we forgot his birthday….Hmmmph
Diane