LOVELAND, Colo. - Ann Peterson, 88, died Aug. 10, 2009, at North Shore Health & Rehab Facility in Loveland, Colo.

She was the mother of Susan Hay Cramer of Missoula.

Ann moved to Loveland in 2008 after 55 years in northwestern Connecticut, 53 of them in Cornwall.

She was born Feb. 6, 1921, in Philadelphia, the only child of Frederick Carlton Sweinhart and Minerva (Schwenk) Sweinhart. An ancestor, Abraham Schwenk, fought in the Battle of Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War.

Ann spent her early years on the family apple ranch near Delta, Colo., and retained a lifelong love of the western slope of the Rockies.

After graduating from Friends Select School in Philadelphia and Wilson College, Ann worked as a passenger representative for the Pennsylvania Railroad, first in Washington, D.C., and later in Manhattan, assisting travelers on board some of the famous passenger trains of the late 1940s and early 1950s. She remained a proud railroader throughout her life.

After raising her children in Cornwall and at a second home in Killington, Vt., Ann enjoyed an active career in retail sales in northwestern Connecticut. She was always interested in fashion and had a great sense of style. She was an excellent cook. She subscribed to the New Yorker magazine for more than 60 years and read the New York Times every day. She loved cats and driving fast cars.

Ann was an avid bicyclist, downhill and cross-country skier, hiker and swimmer. She enjoyed snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, swimming and riding her bike until age 87. Ann was a former member of the Litchfield County University Club and a longtime member of Cornwall's Democratic Town Committee. She belonged to All Saint's Episcopal Church in Loveland.

In addition to her daughter, Ann is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Andrew and Suzanne Peterson of Loveland; and two granddaughters, Elizabeth Ann Peterson of Denver and Katherine Mary Peterson of Irvine, Calif. She also leaves her two beloved cats, Arnold and Cyrus, and many friends of all ages

Memorial services will be held in Loveland and in Cornwall.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial contributions to the Alumni Annual Fund, Friends Select School, 17th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1284; or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Our mother was very proud of her children and grandchildren, and we were proud of her.