Funeral services for Lavinia (Winter) Peters, age 84, of Seattle, WA, will be held at 12:00 p.m. noon on Saturday, November 17, 2012 at the Prince of Peace Chapel of the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon, SD. Pastor Bob Edwards will officiate with burial in the Greenhill Cemetery in Lemmon.



Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until the start of the funeral on Saturday morning.



Mrs. Lavinia (Winter) Peters was born June 26, 1928, in McIntosh, SD to Fred and Myrtle (Davis) Winter. She went to high school in McIntosh, SD and worked in audit and budget for the Federal Government. She retired in 1991 after 40 years of employment heading the office of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Region 10, which included the states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho. She twice earned the honor of Federal Government Employee of the Year, and was presented with this honor by Casper Weinberger, U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and by Margaret Heckler, U.S. Secretary of HHS, in Washington D.C.



Lavinia enjoyed the color pink and was nicknamed the "Pink Lady" by her co-workers at HHS in Seattle, initially when she acquired a new pink Chrysler and was profiled in the Department's newsletter. She enjoyed country music, particularly Johnny Cash, and had collected some of his memorabilia, as well as baseball, a love she passed along to her son and grandsons.



Lavinia was most proud of her son, Dr. Kurt D. Merkel, of St. Louis and her three grandsons, Tom, Tyler and Tim Merkel. Dr. Merkel studied at University of Washington, St. Louis University Medical School, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN (completing his residency in orthopedic surgery) and Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital (completing a fellowship in orthopedic oncology and bone transplantation). He is in private practice in St. Louis, MO, but has taken time to visit his mother in Seattle numerous times in the past year. She is also survived by nine nieces and nephews including Dave Winter of Denver, CO, Anita Abell of Piedmont, SD, Cindy Lord of Atlanta, GA, Richard Jenson of Denver, CO, Bev Pietz of Billings, MT, Denise Winter of Taylorville, IL, Deb Winter of Piedmont, SD, Kevin Winter of Missoula, MT and Byron Winter of Amboy, WA; as well as numerous great-nephews and great-nieces.



Lavinia died in Seattle, WA, Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at The Ida Culver House.



Lavinia was preceded in death by her husband of 20 years, Sheldon "Pete" Peters; her mom and dad, Fred and Myrtle Winter; three brothers, Fred "Fritz" Winter of Prescott Valley, AZ, Spearfish, SD and Missoula, MT, Phillip Winter of Morristown, SD and Dan Winter of Lemmon, SD; and one sister, Eleanor Jenson of Billings, MT.