Elisabeth Ellen (Peterson) Prenot

Elisabeth Ellen Peterson Prenot, August 7, 1944-March 20, 2026

Elisabeth was the kind of person who, when she had to say goodbye, gave you the longest hug, and came outside on the front porch to wave as your car drove away.  She made sure you knew how much she loved you and that you were important.  This could be through spending hours reading aloud children’s books to her children and then her grandchildren, her constant drive to be a better listener, or her careful critique of other’s artwork at one of her many artist groups over the years.  Elisabeth was a fixer of anything–physical or emotional (“If I don’t know how I just read the manual!” she’d exclaim with joy), collected children’s books the way some women collect shoes, was an experimental cook (from deep dish pizza to gluten free cakes), a teacher, a devoted wife of 59 years, a mother, a MorMor, and a lover of too many things to count–from birds, to canoeing, to singing loudly and cheerfully (if out of tune), ANY VEGETABLE, creating puppet shows, long walks with her many canine companions, math problems, learning Danish… …as we said the list is long.  It is because she was SO full of life and energy that it feels unreal that she passed away unexpectedly in the early morning hours of March 20, 2026.

Elisabeth Ellen Peterson Prenot was born in Poughkeepsie, NY on August 7, 1944 and grew up in Red Hook, NY in a family of four other siblings.  She met her husband, Richard Rohner Prenot Jr. due to a snowstorm cancelling both of their original plans, and they married and had four children.  They lived in Wappingers Falls, Syracuse, Connecticut, and finally settled and lived in Red Hook for three decades.  They resettled in Central NY ten years ago, and Elisabeth worked hard to create a community.  However, this list of facts about her doesn’t capture her spirit and give a true picture of who she was, so instead of a typical obituary, we thought we would tell you stories.  Because if you knew her, you’d get a story.  

She was unabashedly honest, and had a sense of humor about it.  Once, a friend of her son was over at our house for breakfast and asked if the vitamins were chewable.  Elisabeth stopped, tilted her head to the side and said “hmmmmmm… …chewable, able to be chewed.  Yes, I suppose they are.”  To which the friend friend helped himself to one of those incredibly huge and gross tasting multivitamins and chomped it.

Elisabeth had almost daily video calls with two of her sisters over the last decade.  Although spread out across the country, Joan, Karen, and Elisabeth discussed their lives over a cup of tea, learning more about each other and becoming far closer than they were in their childhoods.  Elisabeth was able to carry on these intimate and frequent video calls with her sisters, despite the distance.

Elisabeth was a wonderful and healthy cook.  She would make endless loaves of Swedish Limpa bread, especially at Christmas, and the siblings would mob the delicious fresh bread after “renegade caroling” to all of our friend’s homes and then leave ridiculous notes for why the bread had disappeared– we remember one saying that we had had to use the bread as battering rams to save the orphans from a fire.  Other creations of hers were perhaps not as beloved, as when she snuck brewer’s yeast into batches of chocolate chip cookies to make them more nutritious. 

She and her husband took the family on many trips to the wilderness, and instilled in their children the understanding that mountains, trees, and lakes were just as much of a playground as a swingset.  When she discovered her children lashing logs together to make a raft, digging holes in the backyard to find clay to make pottery, carving sticks with pocket knives, creating forts in the lilac bushes–all and any of these were met by “oh, okay.”

Elisabeth rarely swore, and when she did it was an event.  We once saw her hit her thumb with a hammer. Her usual choice of words would be “oh, poor thumb, dear, dear thumb, I’m so sorry!” but this time she said “damn!”. We were all amazed and talked about it for years.

She and her husband, Richard (who she called Pooh or Dick), were married for 59 years, and were committed to one another.  They planned extensive wilderness camping trips together, traveled to France and London, attended classical music concerts at SPAC, planned trips to museums enthusiastically, and would frequently take picnics to some lovely place outside, just to eat and enjoy one another’s company. 

Mormor, Beth, Mom, Tish–Elisabeth Ellen Peterson Prenot is survived by husband Richard, her son Frank (Traci), daughters Cathrine (Ike), Laura, and Virginia Isabelle (Alexander), four grandchildren, her two sisters Joan Derry (Mark) and Karen Elek (Dan) and numerous friends and extended family.  She is predeceased by her sister Christine Peterson Rhea, her brother John Peterson, and her father and mother Eva and Richard Peterson.

Picture this.  Elisabeth is standing on the porch waving goodbye.  The rest of us, fueled by her love, her bravery, her laugh, her hugs… …drive away as slowly as we possibly can and wave until we are out of sight. 

We will be informally gathering in her memory Friday, March 27th at Mohawk Valley Friends Meeting, 2981 Austin Road, Clinton, NY from 2-5 pm. If you are unable to join us, we would still love to hear from you and will share your memories then.

As Elisabeth requested, her body was donated to the Anatomical Gift Program at Upstate Medical University.  In lieu of any gifts to the family, please plant some flowers or make a donation to the Whitesboro Fire Department or Central Oneida County Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

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