Kay Helen Peterson, 77, of Marble Falls died July 12, 2021
Kay Helen Peterson, 77, died at her home in Marble Falls, Texas, on July 12, 2021, after nearly a year battling Lymphoma cancer.
Kay was born in Waco in 1943. She was a lifelong teacher, reporter, public relations professional, book author, and small-business owner. She lived much of her professional life in Anchorage, San Francisco, and Seattle before retiring to the Hill Country/Marble Falls.
Ms. Peterson graduated in1961 from Reicher High School in Waco; attended the University of Texas, Baylor University, and the University of Colorado Boulder; and graduated in 1966 from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
During her 40-year public relations career, she was a member of the College of Fellows of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
In Marble Falls, she was the 2011 president of the Highland Lakes Service League, a member and local scholarship chair of the national nonprofit philanthropic women’s organization PEO, sang in the choir of The Church at Horseshoe Bay and the Bluebonnet Chorale, served as a reporter for several Burnet and Llano County newspapers, and was an advisor/mentor to a number of local nonprofit organizations.
Ms. Peterson’s surviving immediate family in Texas include her husband, Erik V. Peterson of Marble Falls; Kay’s former sister-in-law Christine Shears and husband Craig of Waco; and Christine’s daughters (Kay’s nieces), Paige Hagenswold of Austin and Allison Herring of San Antonio. Sister-in-law Mary Herring, widow of Kay’s deceased brother, Jerry Herring, also lives in Waco. Deceased brother Jerry’s offspring and Kay’s nieces/nephews include Molly Herring of Houston, Michael Herring and wife Melody of Robinson, and Mark West, unknown. First cousins surviving Ms. Peterson include Dr. Alan Miller of Irving, Nancy Duncan of Willow Park, Linda Gough of Waco, Richard Kleypas of Russellville, Arkansas, and James Kleypas of San Antonio.
In lieu of flowers, memorials to Kay Herring Peterson may be made to Texas Hill Country Rotary Passport Club, P.O. Box 1591, Marble Falls, TX 78654 or Highland Lakes Service League, P.O. Box 1697, Marble Falls, TX 78654.
A celebration of life in Kay’s memory will be held at her home at a later date.