Phyllis Peterson-Salim

Phyllis Maxine Peterson-Salim passed Saturday, February 18, 2017 at 12:45 p.m. PST in San Jose, CA.  There will be a memorial in Waukon for her later in the year. For details, please contact Jeff Schon at 563-794-1353.

Phyllis was born in Waukon April 13, 1928 to Ben Peterson (d. 1974) and Violet Echard-Peterson (d. 1984). After graduating from Waukon High School in 1945 she moved to Des Moines to work at Fort Des Moines.  There she met a medical student, Donald Salim (d. 1980), and they were married in 1956. Moving back to his home state of Michigan, they had a son, John Randall (Randy) Salim, in 1966. She is survived by Randy and her two granddaughters, Thara (b. 1998) and Leela (b. 2002) who live in Los Altos Hills, CA.

Phyllis loved her family, travel, art, gardening, nature, chocolate and her beloved dogs: two Cocker Spaniels, Bridget and Candy; a Boxer, Dusty; and three Pugs, Harvey, Morgan and Ashley. She painted a dozen wonderful portraits in oil, produced beautiful clay sculptures and several touching poems. She volunteered at the hospital and yearly arts festival. She nurtured her garden and produced baskets of summer vegetables and picked raspberries in the early mornings.

Although she lived in Utica and Rochester Hills, MI, Decorah, Sun City West, AZ and San Jose, CA, and traveled the world, Waukon was always home to her.  She will rest alongside her mother, father and sister she adored, Jean Peterson-Schon (d. 2014), in Waukon.