Kim Peterson

Kim Peterson
Rural Polk County

Mary Kimmel “Kim” Peterson, 77, died peacefully at her home on Friday, December 14, 2018. Funeral services will be 10 AM Saturday, December 22, 2018 at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. Visitation will be all day Friday, December 21, 2018 at Hamilton’s Funeral Home, 605 Lyon Street in Des Moines, where family will be present from 4-8 PM. Private burial will take place at Pine Hill Cemetery.

Kim was born July 6, 1941 in Des Moines, Iowa to Russell and Mary Eloise (Anderson) Schoch. She graduated from Dear East High and went on to get her Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!), followed by her Master’s in Library Science at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX. She married Carlton Peterson August 29, 1964, and they enjoyed spending time in Florida and as much time as they could at their lake home in Clear Lake.

She was proud to be a librarian at the Des Moines Public Library and helped to start the library at the Iowa Commission for the Blind, where she was for eight years. She was also instrumental in starting the libraries for area Catholic elementary schools. In 1979, Kim established the Lee Hamilton Grief Lending Library, the first grief lending library at a funeral home in the state of Iowa. After that she owned retail gift shops The Fine Line in Johnston, Shoppes on Grand in Ames, and the Mole Hole in Des Moines for 25 years.

Kim was a longtime member of the First Unitarian Church and a 40-year member of Des Moines Women’s Reciprocity Group. Above all else she was a wonderful and loving wife, mom, and Nana. She was very proud to be a graduate of the East High Class of 1959. She was a die-hard Iowa fan, cheering especially for football and basketball. She and Carlton enjoyed their season football tickets, taking their family to several bowl games, along with traveling to see the Hawks play basketball.

Kim is survived by her husband, Carlton; her daughter Sasha (Michael) Mudlaff and grandsons Micah, Jonah, Nathanael and Isaiah; her daughter Holly (Ryan) Miller and granddaughters Megan Miller, and Erin (Mike) Matheny; great grandson, Levi Matheny; her brother, Russell “Bing” (Catherine) Schoch, Jr. and nephews Matthew and Christopher Schoch and Perrin Phillips; her sister, Jeanne Schoch; her sister-in-law Georgianne “Jill” (Jack) Schreiber; her loving cousins; and several other family members and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; her grandson, Alan Andrew Dean Miller; and her nephew, Andrew Schoch.

Memorial contributions may be made to DMARC Food Pantry at www.dmarcunited.org or the Little Al Foundation at www.littlealfoundation.com in loving memory of Kim.

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