MARY ANN PETERSON was born in Lansing, Ingham, MI, Jan. 21, 1936. JOHN FLOYD FIELD was born at the home of his maternal grandparents in Harrison, Boone, AR, Apr. 26, 1935. Shortly thereafter, he traveled with his mother to the family ranch in Dunning, Blaine, NE. JOHN attended elementary school in Dunning, Blaine, NE, and high school in Bridgeport, Morrill, NE. MARY ANN and JOHN were married on Sep. 15, 1956.

MARY ANN started kindergarden in East Lansing, MI, in 1940. The next year she moved to Syracuse, Onondaga, NY, and then moved to Des Moines, Polk, IA. In ninth grade she moved to Watertown, Codington, SD, where she graduated from Watertown High School in 1953. She then attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, Brookings, SD. She transferred to the University of Colorado in Boulder, Boulder, CO, where she earned a B.S. degree in Pharmacy in 1957. She was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority there.

A highlight of her childhood, while living in Des Moines, was attending YWCA camp each summer. It was at camp where she developed a lifelong love for being outdoors, camping, swimming, and adventures with friends. MARY ANN's early years were influenced by the aftermath of the Great Depression and the Second World War, and camping was a popular summer pastime.

After Des Moines, the family moved to Watertown, where MARY ANN completed high school. In high school, she was one of only a few young women to take advanced courses in math and science, which were subjects she especially enjoyed. Her high school chemistry teacher suggested she study pharmacy, an unusual career choice for a woman in 1953. She was the only woman pharmacy major at her college.

MARY ANN and JOHN met in Pharmacy school at the University of Colorado, Boulder. They married in 1956. After graduaton from college, MARY ANN and JOHN took positions as pharmacists at Presbyterian Hospital in Denver, CO. They then moved to Cheyenne, WY, where JOHN was a medical service representative for Parke Davis & Co. and MARY ANN continued as a hospital pharmacist.

In addition to Denver and Cheyenne, she lived in Lincoln, NE, San Francisco, CA, Weaverville, CA, Glen Ellyn, IL, Reno, NV, Moraga, CA, Orinda, CA, Louisville, KY, Anchorage, AK, Santa Rosa, CA, and then Mountain View, CA, for more than twenty years. She lived the rest of her life in Gilroy, CA.

While in Weaverville, MARY ANN's two children were born. During the children's early years MARY ANN focused on being a wife and mother. She and the family enjoyed camping trips, boating and swimming on Trinity Lake, and ski trips to Sun Valley, ID. She also pursued her love for sewing as a hobby, sometimes winning awards at the Trinity County Fair. During this period of her life, she learned to play bridge from her Uncle Harrison, an accomplished player of the game. She obtained her Private Pilot License in 1973, while living in Weaverville. It became useful as a way of shuttling her young son to school in Hyampom, CA. As a member of the local flying club MARY ANN had access to both a Cessna 150 (2 passenger) and a Cessna 180 (4 passenger).

By the time the children approached middle school, the family had moved several times for JOHN's career and decided to settle in the San Francisco Bay area. While in the Bay Area, MARY ANN continued her education at St. Mary's College in Moraga, earning her California Teaching Certificate K-12 about 1977, working part-time as a pharmacist, substitute teacher, and math tutor. She enjoyed teaching. In the late 1970's MARY ANN and JOHN divorced. As a single parent, she increased her hours as a pharmacist while also completing a master's degree in public health (MPH) at the University of California, Berkeley in 1980.

During her career years, she lived and worked in a dozen states, including installing pharmacy computer systems for the U.S. Air Force and for Humana hospitals. She settled primarily in three communities: the San Francisco Bay area, where she worked both as a pharmacist and a steward of public health, including California's first pilot project for the prescribing and dispensing of medication by registered nurses and nurse practioners in rural communities; Ankarage, AK, where she served as the Executive Director for the Alzheimer's Association; and Santa Rosa, CA, where she worked as the Director of Pharmacy for a non-profit health clinic.

Upon retirement, she moved to Mountain View, CA, to be closer to her daughter and family. She traveled frequently to Oregon to visit her son and family. MARY ANN was a steadfast and enthusiastic presence at school events, concerts, recitals, and sporting events for her grandchildren. She tutored her grandchildren in high school math and science, and volunteered in the Mountain View public schools helping elementary school children with their math and reading skills.

MARY ANN enjoyed her retirement years by traveling, visiting friends, and pursuing many interests and hobbies. She took memorable trips throughout the United States, Europe, Russia, and Scandinavia with her family and friends. She and her brother often organized family reunions, which MARY ANN cherished. These reunions included trips to Sweden and Norway, where she connected with her Norwegian cousins for the first time. The extended family continued to visit back and forth between both countries and stay in touch.

MARY ANN lived for more than 20 years in the same Mountain View neighborhood, enjoying her home, gardening, and daily walks with her dog, Woozle. She volunteered for nearly a decade as an Ombudsman for the Elderly in long-term care facilities. In her late years she moved to an independent senior community, where she enjoyed bridge and daily walks.

She traveled, skied, hiked, and camped in the mountains. She flew private planes in Alaska, drove the Alaska Highway twice, walked the heights of Machu Pichu, folk-danced in the Aleutian Islands, studied Norwegian and Latin, and learned to play the button accordian. In short, she lived a full, adventurous life.