Obituary of Elizabeth Louise Peterson

Elizabeth Louise Peterson passed away at her home in Soquel, CA on Tuesday October 1st, 2013. Liz was born in 1934 in Raton, New Mexico and moved to Santa Cruz with her family when she was 8 years old. She graduated from Holy Cross high school in 1952. Her hobbies included collecting and making beautiful porcelain dolls, cooking holiday pastries and making Christmas crafts with her family. She was a huge supporter of 4H and the Girl Scouts. She was a member of ICF and YLI. She was a huge Oakland Raiders and A's fan and loved going to games. Her first job was selling ice cream at the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. She retired from the city of Santa Cruz in 1996 after 26 years of service. She was the Program Manager for Food Stamps and Medi-Cal for North and South counties. She was a union organizer for Santa Cruz County. After the earthquake of 1989 Liz worked extensively with FEMA. Liz loved music and played piano, guitar and violin. She started playing violin in 4th grade and often played on the local radio station KSCO in her school years. When she retired, Liz was a volunteer for the Red Cross and went to New Orleans (one of her favorite cities) and Slidell to help after Hurricane Katrina. Liz took many trips to Las Vegas, Tahoe and Reno to gamble with friends. Karaoke, and the Boardwalk were always favorite activities. Liz was happiest when surrounded by her family and many friends. She is survived by her children Audrey, Bill and Rebecca Botelho. Her grandchildren Robert, Ashley, Brandon, Bradley, and Breanna. Her great grandson Brock. Her sister in law Judith Ash, brother Robert and sister in law Mary Ellen Ash, her sister Audrey and brother in law Donald McDowell. She was proceeded in death by her daughter Catherine Botelho, her father and mother Joseph Leo and Ruth Ash and brother John Ash. A Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 435 Monterey Ave in Capitola, CA on Tuesday October 15th at 11 am. Reception to follow. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Elizabeth's name to the Santa Cruz Red Cross.