JEAN AUDREY FORESTEIRE PETER, passed away May 12, 2017 in Yankton, South Dakota, at the age of 88. Jean was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on April 24, 1929 to Anthony Foresteire and Mary White Foresteire. She became a champion speed skater at a young age and kept her competitive spirit throughout her life. As a young woman, she worked as a stewardess for Eastern Airlines in Miami, Florida where she met West Point graduate and love of her life, Edward Compston Peter, II. They were married in 1953 and celebrated fifty-five years of marriage before his death in 2008.

Jean flourished as an Army wife and enjoyed traveling the world. She was a Red Cross volunteer at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines during the Vietnam War, and later served as an Arlington Lady for the National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. She devotedly supported her husband during his military career which spanned from First Lieutenant to Lieutenant General. Vivacious and always active, Jean had a wide range of interests from surfing in Hawaii, skiing in St. Moritz, and pistol shooting in Belgium. Her children and grandchildren enjoyed hearing the stories of her life in her never-fading Boston accent.

A third-generation Italian, she was a devoted Catholic who loved helping others and cherished being a mother and grandmother. She loved her children and grandchildren fiercely and placed family above all else.

Predeceased by her parents, and sisters Mary Foresteire Cresswell and Rita Foresteire McHugh, Jean is survived by her four children: Jean (Ron) Larsen, Edward Peter III, Mary (Keith) Kirby, and Anita (David) Brubaker; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; brother Edward Foresteire; sister Joan (Bory) Cain; brother-in-law Phillips (Jania) Peter; sister-in-law Nancy Peter (Jeffery Orth); and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.

God bless you, Mom. We all will miss you dearly.

Arrangements have been made by the Wass Home for Funerals in Beresford, South Dakota. They will include a 10:00 a.m. funeral Mass at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, 901 S. 3rd St., in Beresford on Friday May 19th. She will be buried beside her husband in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.