Graveside services for Jesse Lee Peterson, 33, Lawrence, will be at 10:30 am Tuesday at Oak Hill Cemetery, with the Rev. Nate Rovenstine officiating. Jesse died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014, at his home.
Jesse was born Feb. 18, 1981, in Council Grove, Kansas. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 1999, where he was a yell leader and a member of Pro Cheer. Jesse attended Barton County Community College on a cheerleading scholarship. After college, he became co-owner of Cheer Fusion in Wichita, Kansas. He moved back to Lawrence in 2010 and began working for Community Living Opportunities where he soon had an ESL home for special needs clients. He was awarded an Achievement Award for his work with his special needs clients. In 2013, he began working for Bethesda out of Olathe, Kansas in his home as an ESL home for special needs clients.
Jesse is survived by his parents, Duane and Deb Peterson, Lawrence; two brothers, Justin and wife Brandy, Lawrence, and Jamie and wife Samantha, Bartlesville, Okla; three nieces, Dezera, Ravyn, and Tatum Peterson, Lawrence; two nephews, Johnny Drake, Lawrence, and Hunter Weeks, Kansas City, Kan.; grandparents LeMyra Allen, Lawrence, Larry Allen and wife Janet, Bellevue, Neb., Charlene Peterson, Grapevine, Tex.; a great grandmother, ‘Grammy’ Isabelle Erichsen, Lawrence; and aunts and uncles, including Dan and Cathy Allen, Naples, Fla., Connie Peterson, Grapevine, Tex., and Jere and Kim Peterson, Tulsa, Okla.
Friends may call from noon to 8 pm Sunday, and from 9 am to 8 pm Monday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, where the family will receive them from 6 pm to 8 pm Monday. Memorial contributions are suggested to AIDS Service Foundation KC, in care of the funeral home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044.