Jaime Petersen

Jaime Lynn Petersen loved life. She was passionate about the outdoors and travel, and often combined the two by visiting National Parks. While she never met a bird or a tree she didn't like, Jaime was particularly fond of the Great Blue Heron. She delighted in photography, and was gifted at capturing the sublime (nature), the adorable (her many beloved pets and her nephew Owen), and the ridiculous (most of her friends). A lifelong Packers fan, football wasn't the only game Jaime liked; she was also an avid puzzler, a regular Jeopardy viewer, and an Escape Room enthusiast. Jaime revered music, sharing her Dad's love for the Beatles from an early age. Favorites as she grew up included the Indigo Girls (Of course! She was a gold star lesbian after all!), Chris Pureka, Brandi Carlile, and Peter Mayer. Jaime learned to play and sing a lot of her favorites on guitar, and she shared that gift with friends throughout her adult life.

Jaime was born to Linda (Anderson) and Jim Petersen on October 13, 1975, in Sturgeon Bay, WI; and grew up in nearby Egg Harbor. The family owned the Lull-Abi Motel and from a young age she loved to work alongside the cleaning staff earning quarters by washing windows and then cashing them for milkshakes at the restaurant next door. Jaime also loved spending Saturdays with her Dad, Jim, helping take photos of cars for car dealership advertisements in the local paper, the Door County Advocate, where her father worked.

Jaime was a student at Gibraltar Area Schools where she played saxophone, basketball and softball, and received her diploma in 1994. She attended Drake University for one year, transfering to and graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point in 1999, with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management with a focus on Environmental Education and Interpretation, and minors in philosophy and biology. She earned her Master of Science in Museum and Field Studies and a minor in linguistics from Colorado University at Boulder in 2002.

Jaime met Megan Coe online in 2005 when that sort of thing was still pretty new. They committed to one another in 2006 and were married on October 13, 2013, after marriage equality became the law of the land. The day of their wedding sparkled almost as much as the happy couple; it was a beautiful, crisp, Minnesota fall day with brilliant blue skies stretching over the prairies and trees of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The two made their home in North Saint Paul, MN, with a menagerie of wonderful pets; Jaime worked as a United States Postal Carrier and Megan as a High School Counselor.

In December 2010, Jaime was diagnosed with breast cancer. She endured surgery, chemotherapy, and aftercare drugs, and health seemed to prevail. In January 2014, however, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. She spent the next five years fighting the disease, bravely facing a tiresome regimen of different medications, surgeries, radiations, and scans under the care of the fabulous nurses and doctors who comprised her care team. On April 3, 2019, with medical options exhausted, Jaime entered hospice care. She died peacefully at home on May 9, 2019, with Megan, her parents, her sister, her pets, and a few close friends gathered around her bed.

Jaime is survived by her wife Megan; parents Linda and Jim; sister Sara, brother-in-law Tim, nephew Owen (Guyette); sister-in-law Mindy (Coe); mother-in-law Judy (Coe); her grandfather Richard Anderson Sr.; cats Slim Shady and Diddo; dogs Kelty and Allie; and all the friends and family who comprise Team Jaime. She was preceded in death by her grandmother Henrietta Anderson and her grandparents Herbert and Isabelle Petersen; and by many beloved pets including her beagle Lewis and her cats Boulder and Duncan.

A Celebration of Jaime's life will take place on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, 3pm, at White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church, 328 Maple St, Mahtomedi, MN 55115, where she was a member. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to these charities close to Jaime's heart: METAvivor, Beagle Freedom Project, and The National Park Foundation.