Mrs. Ellen Petersen

Faculty, retired 1984
December 18, 1930 — April 9, 2003

Ellen Petersen, a teacher, musician, and prize-winning artist, died at home on South Pond Road, East Hampton, on the morning of April 9. She was 72 and had cancer for five years.

Ms. Petersen's abstract paintings are in the collections of the New Museum of Modern Art in Detroit, the LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton, the Dallas Institute of Humanities, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Born on Dec. 18, 1930, in the Bronx, the daughter of William Heinrich and the former Dina Buckmeyer, Ms. Petersen attended high school there and later enrolled at New York University, earning a master of fine arts degree.

In 1952 she married Ralph L. Petersen. The couple settled in New Jersey, where Ms. Petersen taught at Paramus High School, establishing an advanced-placement art curriculum there.

She retired from full-time teaching in 1984, and for several years she and her husband lived in Dallas. In 1988, they moved to East Hampton. Ms. Petersen served as an adjunct faculty member in art at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Nassau Community College. She also led popular art workshops at Guild Hall, the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, and the Art Barge on Napeague.

She was a member of the board of directors of the Artists Alliance of East Hampton and a life member of the Art Students League. Ms. Petersen joined the Women's Caucus for Art in 1968, and remained involved in projects to benefit women artists throughout her career.

She was also a musician, and played classical recorder with the East End Consort at LongHouse Reserve and at a number of churches, libraries, and galleries.

"Her warm personality, unlimited energy, and positive outlook on life made her loved by everyone who knew her," her husband said this week.

She is also survived by two sons, William Petersen of Hillsdale, N.J., and Bryan Petersen of Mahwah, N.J., and three grandchildren.

Memorial contributions have been suggested to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.