Obituary of Elizabeth H. Petersen

Elizabeth Helen Force Petersen, 46, passed away on December 15, 2018 after a short illness.

Born in Grove City, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth spent most of her life in the Slippery Rock area. Elizabeth graduated from Slippery Rock Area High School in 1990 and Slippery Rock University in 1994. Since 2000, she and her husband, Rob, resided in Akron, Ohio, where she worked as a kindergarten teacher at Le Chaperon Rouge Child Care Center. She enjoyed playing hand bells and was a member of the Stow Heritage Ringers, Summit Bells and the Stow Presbyterian Church. She loved attending the Broadway series in Cleveland and in New York, and having fun playing Bunco with many dear friends. Elizabeth had an abundance of joy and patience when working with her kindergarteners, teaching swim lessons, or in changing yet another thread color in a cross-stitch. She liked traveling and had especially fond memories of a road trip that she and Rob took to the west coast in 2012. She laughed and cried easily (sometimes both during a really good movie!). 

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her beloved husband and best friend, Robert J. Petersen, Jr., her mother, Joan Helen Petkus Force, and her mother-in-law, Lola Petersen. She is survived by her father, George T. Force; step-mother, Cynthia Dillon; brother, Donald C. (Jody) Force; niece Melanie; sister-in-law, Nancy (Steven) Brandt; nephew, Noah; and niece, Juliette (Andrew) Townsend and grand-niece, Luella. 

A memorial service will be held Wednesday, December 19, 2018 at 11 a.m. at Stow Presbyterian Church, 4150 Fishcreek Road, Stow, Ohio 44224, with a luncheon immediately following. The family thanks the Medina Hospice Care Center for their compassion and care.  Memorials may be made in lieu of flowers to the Stow Heritage Ringers.