June 12, 1932 – August 13, 2022 (age 90)
Our beautiful, vivacious, loving mother passed away on August 13th, her youngest daughter’s birthday. Ah, the circle of life…
Mary Belle Brown Petersen was born on June 12, 1932 to Russell McCoy Brown and Arlynn Thurston Brown. She was followed in birth by a brother, Russell Ramon, and a sister, Donna Zell. The family lived a happy life in Hyrum, Utah and Pocatello Valley, Idaho, where her father farmed and her mother kept the home.
Mary Belle married Willard Reed (Bill) Petersen on June 12, 1948. They raised their family of five children in a beautiful home on Hyrum main street. Mary Belle was the epitome of a wonderful wife and mother. She was loving, kind, and welcoming, opening both her heart and her home to all. She was an excellent cook, meticulous housekeeper, and kept a beautiful yard. She was always dedicated to her family, keeping the household together while Daddy was away with the sheep. During this time, Mary Belle and Bill were active participants in their community, enjoying the friends they met and relationships they built at the American Legion, the Jaycees (service organization), the Hyrum Saddle Club, the Young Republicans, the Elks (BPOE), and the Logan Dance Club.
Mary Belle entered the professional workforce in midlife, where her strong work ethic served her well in her career at the USU Community Credit Union. She enjoyed making new friends with her fellow employees and customers. During this time she nurtured friendships with a variety of people and groups, traveling annually with a fun group of women to attend the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and meeting weekly to play bridge. She enjoyed traveling, attending local theater productions with her grandchildren, golfing, and a variety of other pastimes, such as reading, watching British mystery shows on PBS, and crocheting. She especially enjoyed her retirement years, living fulltime in Bear Lake with Bill and her family.
Family was most important to Mary Belle, and she was a strong, steady presence in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and extended family and friends. Her grandchildren (and even great-grandchildren) love to reminisce about when it was their turn to live with or be supported by their fiercely loving grandmother. She will be truly missed by so many.
Mary Belle is survived by her four daughters, Patricia (John) Hansen, Shari (Bob) Parson, Krista (Gary) Thunell, and Andrea (Charles) Fullmer; 16 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, step-father (Lloyd Olsen), her husband, sister, brother, and beloved son, Colin Reed Petersen.
Information about the service will be forthcoming.
The family would like to thank the staff at Terrace Grove for the nurturing and professional care they provided Mary Belle for the last few years of her life. She loved her last home.