Henry Peterson

Henry ‘Hank” Alden Peterson, age 82 of Tonasket, was taken by the angels to heaven on Sept. 29, 2008 from the North Valley Care Center in Tonasket.

Born in Lynn, Mass. in 1926 to William and Adria Peterson, he moved to Ellisforde with his family in 1930. He attended school in Tonasket and worked in his family’s apple orchard. After graduating from Tonasket High School in 1944, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served the war effort in the South Pacific. After WWII, he returned home to the Okanogan Valley where he worked in the Ellisforde area.

Along the way he fell in love and married Lee Ann Callison in 1954, his dance partner for the next 54 years. They raised four children and lived on the property his parents homesteaded in Ellisforde. Henry worked in the apple industry his entire life until his retirement in 1988. He was an avid skier and president of the Sitzmark Ski Club for several years. He enjoyed fishing with friends, traveling, playing cards with his grandkids and with his wife. He was a longtime member of the Okanogan County Dinner Dance Club. An avid gardener and hard worker, he and Lee Ann transformed the homestead into a beautiful oasis that their children and grandchildren enjoyed immensely for many years. He attended church at the Ellisforde Church of the Brethren.

He is survived by his wife, Lee Ann Peterson of Tonasket; brother, Bill (Nina) Peterson of Ellisforde; children: Marcia Peterson (Dave) of Mukilteo, Wash., Terry (Ginny) of Bellevue, Wash., Sandy (Lindey) Leggett of Newport, Ore. and Tim Peterson (Michelle) of Spokane, Wash.; grandchildren: Drew, Evan and Reed Peterson, Brady and Spencer Leggett, Ryan and Jenna Peterson.

His father, mother and sister, Adria preceded him in death.

Hank treasured his family and friends and thoroughly enjoyed sharing a good laugh and humorous view of life with them. We will all dearly miss his love and laughter. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008 at the Ellisforde Church of the Brethren.

The Okanogan County Crematory of Okanogan has been entrusted with the arrangements.