Fran was born to John and Martha Glass in Long Beach, California, on December 23, 1933. Fran grew up in Gardena and graduated from Gardena High School. She then proceeded to Pomona College and earned her degree in mathematics, which was a hallmark in her family: to be the first one to earn a four-year college degree.

Fran went on to a very successful career at  Lawrence  Livermore  National Laboratory, working on teams to achieve crucial breakthroughs in nuclear deterrence, counterterrorism, defense, energy, and environmental security. She was very proud of her work there, and she made very meaningful contributions in her professional career.

She met Walt Petersen at a sports car club in Livermore, and they married in 1957 and settled in Livermore. They were very proud of their son Jeff and the fine young man he became. After graduating from high school, he joined the Navy. Sadly, Jeff passed away in boot camp.

Fran and Walt's lives were richly filled with many lifelong passions: car racing, having built their own race car and treating the racing team as a family: sailing, having owned and lived aboard the Tropic Star, a beautiful and pristine 60-foot schooner, and owning and managing multiple dwellings in California and Washington. They lived aboard their schooner from 1975 to 1996, when they moved ashore in  Anacortes.  During their residence on the Tropic Star, they welcomed Walt's daughter, Naomi  Lake, and her three sons into the family. In 2005, they purchased a stunning home overlooking their beloved Puget Sound and brought Fran's mother, Martha, from California to a nearby assisted living facility in Sedro Woolley, where they could see and care for her often until her death in 2007 at age 102. Walt predeceased his cherished wife of 62 years in 2019, and Fran continued to live in and enjoy her home for the rest of her life, with the help of a team of devoted and loving caregivers and long-term friends who were considered family.

Fran is survived by her daughter, Naomi Lake, and her husband, Jimmy, of Avondale, AZ; Naomi's three sons: Jacob McKean of Bend, OR, Aaron McKean of Santa Barbara, CA, and Nathaniel McKean of Truro, MA; six grandchildren; and cousins Richard Hibberd and his wife Gail Buyske of New York, Carol Kreeger of Irvine, CA, and Susan Heinberg Moore of Costa Mesa. CA.

Fran was highly intelligent, intuitive, and caring.  She was a role model to those who knew and loved her in her devotion to her family and lifelong friendships. In her career, her marriage, and her adventures on land and sea. She leaves behind a legacy of love, integrity, and strength of character.

At her request, no services will be held in Anacortes. As with her husband Walt, part of Fran's ashes will be placed in Burrows Bay this Spring, and the remainder will be inurned at a later date in the family plot at Roselawn Cemetery in Livermore. To share memories of Fran, please sign the online guest register and bookmark this link for future visits: www.evanschapel.com/obituary/fran-petersen.