Memorial service next weekend for Pete-e Petersen, former West Seattleite who made history

Thanks to AA for mentioning this in the WSB Community Forums: Pete-e Petersen has died, The Seattle Times reports. Our video above shows Ms. Petersen (in glasses) and her wife Jane Abbott Lighty being cheered in December 2012 after they left the King County Administration Building as the first same-sex couple to get a marriage license. They were West Seattle residents at the time; Ms. Petersen was 85 years old that night, and had shared her life with Lighty for more than three decades by then. The Times reports she died a day short of her 98th birthday, that she and her wife have lived at a Shoreline memory-care facility for the past three years, and that Ms. Petersen will be remembered at a public memorial service next weekend, 3 pm Sunday, October 26, at First Congregational Church in Bellevue. (Read Times reporter Catalina Gaitán‘s detailed story about Ms. Petersen’s life here.)

1 Reply to "Memorial service next weekend for Pete-e Petersen, former West Seattleite who made history"

  • Misha October 19, 2025 (9:21 am)

    Pete-e and Jane are the sweetest. So sorry to hear that Pete-e is no longer with us. Pete-e was a bright light in our community and it was an honor to know her. You can hear more about Pete-e and Jane’s lives and the work they did to fight for gay marriage rights in the documentary “Inlaws and Outlaws” directed by Drew Emery. It used to air on local PBS. You can also borrow it from the library.

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