At age 91, Vonda passed away at home in Chelsea on August 23, 2023, after complications from a stroke on March 31. Her legacy is a life devoted to Christ and a heart full of love for everyone she met.
On February 23, 1952, she married her life-long mate, Nicholas Petri, Jr., known to all as ‘Pete’. Together they lived and worked in Michigan until Pete’s retirement when they became Floridians for more than 25 years.
Some of mom’s favorite memories were about saving to buy her first automobile, a blue Hudson, selling Amway, Tupperware, Beeline Fashions, and Queen’s Way to Fashion, becoming a lifeguard and then a hairdresser before working in the Van Buren school system where she started in the lunchroom and finished as the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools. Her crowning achievement was fulfilling a life-long desire to become a nurse and completing her LPN education and licensure at age 54.
More favorite memories included travel to Cuba in the 50's, Pakistan and India in the 70's, and full-time RV-ing throughout the U.S. Her favorite state was Alaska, and Hawaii was the only state she and Pete missed.
Vonda was preceded in death by her parents, Victor and Anna Hoskins; her husband, Pete; her son, Nicholas Stephen; and her sisters, Velma and Vera. She is survived by her daughter, Sharon; son-in-law, John Werenski; grandchildren, Bryn and Drew Warren; and beloved extended family and friends.
At Vonda’s request, cremation has taken place, and her family will gather with family and friends at a later date. Arrangements were entrusted to Cole Funeral Chapel in Chelsea.
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Comments
Her smile was contagious and her love of Christ was a reflection of the way she lived others.
We were unable to reach her via cell so I googled her and found she'd passed August 26. She was so lived and will be missed greatly. My sympathy to her family. Goodness and grace like Vondas no longer exists in this age. She's at home with the savior.