Category Archives: Obedience

Obituary of Mary Peterson

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obit-picMary Ellen (Johnson) Peterson, much loved wife of Bervin C. Peterson, was welcomed home to Jesus’ arms on September 24, 2016, at the age of 72. She was a woman of faith who loved the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Mary was born on December 8, 1943, to the late Carl and Evelyn (nee James) Johnson of Chicago and was raised in Wilmette, IL. She attended New Trier High School, followed by North Park College and Swedish Covenant School of Nursing (BSN, RN) where she worked as a head nurse before retiring to raise a family.

She considered herself privileged to be a stay-at-home mom in Northbrook where she embraced the art of homemaking and filled her home with love throughout 49 years of marriage. She and Bervin welcomed Luke (Emily), Julia (Drew), Karl, Andrew (Kimberly), Johanna (Drew), Stina (Evan), and Marta.

The constant thread running through Mary’s life was the Moody Church in Chicago, where she accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior in Sunday school as a nine-year-old. Later she served as a teacher in that Sunday school, a youth sponsor alongside her husband, the nursery committee chairwoman, a deaconess, and a mentor of young mothers in the Mom to Mom ministry. She also worked in the By the Hand Club for Kids, tutoring children in need, served with the Caris Crisis Pregnancy Center, and was in the leadership of Community Bible Study in Arlington Heights for 25 years.

Mary was a champion at hospitality, frequently hosting family gatherings, bridal and baby showers, prayer groups, Bible studies, and any other get-togethers looking for a place to meet. She was active with her children and grandchildren until the week before she died, welcoming the cleanup that inevitably followed time with these young children. She was always up for games, puzzles, or trips to the family’s home in Bethany Beach, Michigan, to play at the beach. Mary was never without a hug or word of encouragement for others – or maybe just gum and candy for those children and grandchildren she loved so much, who loved her right back.

Mary lived by the credo that tending to the needs of others was more important than tending to herself, and she did so every day. She is survived by her husband, her 7 children, 11 grandchildren with a 12th due in 2017, her sister Margaret (the late Nate Nyman), brother Tom Johnson (Leslie Jones) and many dear cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Family and friends are invited to gather on Wednesday, September 28, for visitation at 10:00 and the funeral service at 11:00, at Moody Church (1630 N. Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614). Interment will be at Rosehill Cemetery (5800 North Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60660)

In lieu of flowers, charitable donations may be made to Moody Church or Community Bible Study (790 Stout Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80921).

Critter Gitters, Conclusion

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After pest-pro Eric inspected my house and found all the spots where multiple animals were entering and exiting, he set traps to begin catching (and relocating) them. The very next day, several of the traps had bounty in them, so he came right over.

I knew he was pleased at our first catch when I heard his excitement high on the ladder. “Flying squirrels!” he said. “I didn’t know there were any in this area!”

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Remembering my ceiling stains, I couldn’t share his joy. But there they were, three grey squirrels with white “ruffles” on their sides, flaps that opened into wings allowing them to fly from tree-to-tree. “They’re practically tame,” he said. “My boss will want me to bring these to his property.”

“And how far away is that?” I said.

“Far enough. Seventeen miles.”

There were other catches as the week went on, and Eric also thinned our prolific chipmunk population, thwarting their repeated attempts to get into my house.

Critter Gitter.As he worked, I followed him around, watching him work and learning about his business. “People think we enjoy killing animals. One woman even called me a murderer. But we do our job with great care and as much kindness as possible.

“We keep a record of every animal we catch, whether we relocate or euthanize, and when, where, how. The Department of Natural Resources monitors everything we do, and if we make a mistake, we answer to them. And we have to be current on which animals are on the protected list, to be sure we release any caught by mistake.”

As he described how careful he was in ridding homes of critters, it made me wonder how careful I am in ridding myself of the negatives that tend to sneak into my life – things like a critical spirit, an exaggerated truth, or a complaining attitude.

Do I regularly examine my motives and emotions, inch by inch, to be sure nothing problematic is taking up residence within me? Do I hold a mirror up to myself, hunting for even the smallest sins with a desire to route them out?

Critter GetterIf not, I’d do well to remember Eric’s diligence. And once the offenders were out of my house, he was just as thorough in sealing everything up, which wasn’t easy. It meant repairing a broken window (left), buying a missing piece of siding and reinstalling it, tightening up other rows of siding, purchasing a new dryer vent-tube and putting a cage over the exterior vent, trimming trees to within 10 feet of the house, using stainless steel and other “non-chewables” to fill up holes, and doing it all on a series of ninety-degree days.

May I be just that thorough in blocking every opening where sin may try to enter my life.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

Critter Gitters

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I live on the edge of a forest that’s alive with critters of all kinds, everything from ants to owls to fox to turkeys. Of course there are also deer, mice, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, gophers, ‘possums, coyotes, spiders, and raccoons. All of them were here before I was, so I try to give grace. But when they leave the forest and enter my house, all bets are off.

Though I would never harm even an ant when it’s outside, killing that same ant on my kitchen counter feels right. The same goes for any other critters who take up residence with me.

Last summer the situation reached a new low when I found chipmunk droppings scattered over my silverware and in my measuring cups.

IMG_3646Then winter came, with the pitter-patter of little feet in my attic, and this spring I noticed yellow urine stains on the white bedroom ceilings. Logic told me a crowd of critters was cohabitating with me, breaking house rules.

That’s when I called “Awesome Critter Gitters,” a local pest control service with a reputation for gentle but insistent removal. Eric arrived with a truck full of live-trap cages, all sizes, and the determination of man over beast.

“First off,” he said, “we’ll do a thorough inspection of your home’s exterior, inch-by-inch. That’ll tell us where they’re getting in. After that, we’ll set live traps at the exits to make sure everybody’s out. Then we’ll seal up the house.”

For the next few days, Eric was a steady presence on my property, crawling all over the roof, using a mirror on a stick to look up, under, and behind every inch, just as he’d promised.

Critter GitterHe was up and down his ladder dozens of times, inspecting every crevice, anything wider than a pinky finger. “They don’t need much space to get in,” he said. I watched as he pulled acorn caps and shredded nesting material out of some very strange places.

He put pieces of tissue in tubes connected to several of the holes. “If the tissue falls out, we know an animal exited. If it falls in, they entered.” He showed me evidence of active use next to loose siding pieces. “See that grey smudge? Oil from a squirrel’s fur as he pushed his way in.” Other gaps were clean at the edges, indicating they’d abandoned those.

After Eric left that first day, the very next morning the traps were full, so I called him.

(To be continued)

Even a…”spider skillfully grasps with its hands, and it is in kings’ palaces.” (Proverbs 30:28 NKJV)