Janet Ruth (Mickelson) Peterson

APPLETON, Wis. - Janet Ruth (Mickelson) Peterson, formerly of Ironwood and Watersmeet, Michigan, entered eternal life at age 86 on Oct. 4, 2020, in Appleton.

She was the loving mother of Tracy (Robert Krouze) O'Donnell, Frank (Tammy) O'Donnell, Neil P. (Mary) O'Donnell, Patricia (Dan) Cameron, Doreen (Larry Abramovitz) O'Donnell, and Laura O'Donnell; loving grandmother of Nathan, Necole, Matthew, Kaylee, Rob, Danny, Bess, Lawson and Billy; loving great-grandmother to Julia, Jayla, Rosie, Nevaeh, Nayla and Nova; beloved sister of Debra (Steve) Varlesi; loving aunt to many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her former husband, Neil F. O'Donnell, and husband, Cecil C. Peterson; brothers, Robert (Marge) Mickelson and Ralph "Billy" (Kathy) Peterson; and parents, Hugo Marcus Mickelson and Virginia June (Dixon).

Janet will be interred with her family at Riverside Cemetery, in Ironwood, Michigan.

Janet was born in Ironwood, on Jan. 21, 1934. She graduated from Luther L. Wright High School with the class of 1952. After graduation, she traveled to Chicago, where she went to work for Eastern Airlines as a stewardess. It was during this period that she met and married Neil O'Donnell in 1956, and together they had six children.

In 1970, she moved with her children back to the Upper Peninsula. She settled in Watersmeet, Michigan, to be near her mother. In 2011, after the sudden death of her husband, Cecil Peterson, she moved to Appleton, Wisconsin. She lived the remainder of her life with her daughter Laura and Laura's son, Billy.

She was compassionate and caring, a lover of animals, especially dogs; she enjoyed singing, reading, listening to music, and her morning coffee. Most of all she loved spending quality time with her grandson, Billy and other family members.