By ASHLEY STREHL
Feature Editor
A woman, a mom, a wife, who loved once, and a woman lived alone for 50 years.
In the WWII era, women lived their lives getting an education, and awaiting for their husbands to return from war. Imogene Fender-Peterson was one of those women, and went to school at Northwestern, but when her husband, John Peterson, returned from war she quit her schooling and decided to become a mother of three children and a wife, who stayed home, loved her family.
When her husband returned from war, she was met with his kind smile and a “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen” from John, when he died of heart disease she lived alone, with her faith, in that someday her and the love of her life will be reunited again. She is now living in Beatles nursing home with dementia, with regular visits from her daughter and grandchildren.
She can’t remember where she is but she can tell you the full story of how she and John came to love each other.
This photo essay encapsulates some of Imogene’s pictures and belongings to show how strong she really is.
Her silver and little trinkets have kept in shape all these years, and at the age of 90, so has she. Her strength in life, much like the silver, is inspiring and begs a photographer to make an art of it.
She is an inspiring tale that love and faith can make it through anything.
