Nell M. Petersen

Nell McGinty Petersen, 105, died in Charlotte on January 23, 2015. She had the distinction of being the eldest member of Sharon Presbyterian Church. Nell was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 27, 1909, the daughter of the late Luther McGinty and Maude Jackson McGinty, She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Carl A. Petersen and her four brothers, Luther J. McGinty, Arthur J. McGinty, Wallace H. McGinty, and Paul McGinty. Nell is survived by her daughter Marjorie Perry Hefferon of Pineville, grandsons Thomas Hefferon and wife Sylvia, Michael Hefferon and wife Karen, and Paul Hefferon and wife Vera, all of Charlotte, as well as eight great grandchildren, six great-great grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. Nell was employed for several years before World War II as a secretary at the U. S. Army Quartermaster Depot in Charlotte. When the war began, she volunteered to serve overseas with the military as a civilian secretary. For the duration of the war, she was secretary to the Commanding General of the Seventh Air Corp. in Hawaii. After the war, Nell became secretary to the late Moravian Bishop Herbert Spaugh in Charlotte. When Nell later married Carl Petersen, she was warmly welcomed into his family by his grown children, Patricia Hippen, Margaret Clements, and Carl A. Petersen, Jr. In lieu of the grandmother they never knew, she became the de facto grandmother to their children, Keith Hippen, Lynn Hippen, Scott Hippen, Kathleen Clements Nicholson, and David Clements. Thus she became the elder member of two loving and attentive families. Special thanks are given to Nell's niece Lynda McGinty for her loving care during Nell's later years. The family also expresses its appreciation to the staffs of Charlotte Square Assisted Living and the Levine & Dickson Hospice House at Southminster for their end-of-life care and support. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Salvation Army Center of Hope Shelter for Women and Children, 534 Spratt Street, Charlotte, NC 28206, or to a charity of choice. -

Service Information

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015 2:00pm, Sharon Presbyterian Church

Interment Details

Greenwood Cemetery