Elaine N. Peterson died peacefully in the company of a dear friend on January 30, 2020, just shy of her 95th birthday.

Born in Milwaukee on February 10, 1925, Elaine was the daughter of the late Erwin V. Novotny and Frances Mayer Novotny and the sister of the late Richard Novotny. She attended Milwaukee Public Schools, received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology from the Clinical Psychological Program at Marquette University. While at the UW Elaine met the very handsome and kind Charles L. Peterson, then an officer in the U.S. Navy. Married in 1951, the two enjoyed a wonderful life together filled with family and friends, music, theatre, laughter, sailing, travel and adventure until Charles’s untimely death from cancer in 1982.

Elaine was justifiably proud of her many professional accomplishments. She was Director of Personnel at the T.A. Chapman Company in Milwaukee, Administrative Director of the Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology, held positions at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Alverno College, was President of the Channel 10/36 Friends, Inc., and served on a number of arts organization boards, including the National Friends of Public Broadcasting, Inner City Arts Council, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Art Center, Artist Series at the Pabst, Sunset Playhouse, Waukesha Arts Alliance, and Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. She was a consummate community volunteer, a quiet and generous philanthropist, a lover of animals and nature, and an avid patron of the arts.

Most importantly, Elaine was a wonderful friend. Her deep, genuine and abiding interest in others and her lively sense of fun and adventure made her a favorite of all who knew her. She is survived and remembered with great affection by her sister-in-law, Jean Novotny, her niece Susan Novotny, nephew Brian Novotny, and members of Charles’s extended family. She was a beloved presence in the lives of many friends and will be deeply missed.