F. Esther Peterson, 93, of Mountain Home, Arkansas fell asleep in death on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Hospice of the Ozarks Hospice House. Esther was born and raised in Puerto Rico to Fernando and Maria Gullon Caraballo. She moved to Chicago, Illinois at the age of 18 where she later met the love of her life, Richard B. Peterson. The family lived in Mountain Home since moving from Crystal Lake, Illinois in 1967. She dedicated herself to caring for their home, raising their children, and maintaining her love for her Creator, Jehovah. She was always amazed by His awesome creations, especially flowers and birds, in particular purple irises and hummingbirds. One of her favorite scriptures was always Revelation 21: 3-4 which she very much looked forward to, and the Bible’s promise of an earthly resurrection gave her great comfort.

We, her family, are very proud of her Puerto Rican heritage, whose people are known for their love, kindness, generosity, and close family bonds. She was raised with those principles and carried them throughout her life. In addition to her love of nature, she was fond of and well known for her great cooking, traveling, reading, getting together with her friends of which she had very many, and for her voluntary ministry work as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Later in life she also worked for the Baxter County Health Department in Mountain Home for 16 years until her retirement. She was always considered a “lady”, and all her family and friends loved her dearly.

Esther leaves to cherish her in memory, her daughters, Norma (Marty) Dickerson, Kathy (Mark) Shimanek, Lori (John) Deatherage, stepdaughter, Karen Peterson, and stepson, Richard A. (Pat) Peterson. Through Norma, Kathy, Lori, and Rich she also leaves her beloved nine grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by Richard B. Peterson, her parents, two brothers, four sisters, many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

To honor Esther’s wishes, there will be no funeral or memorial service. The family will have a private gathering to celebrate her life at a later date.

Her family wishes to specifically thank all the staff at Hospice House for their wonderful care and love they gave her, which brought us much comfort as well. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Ozarks, 811 Burnett Drive, Mountain Home, Arkansas 72653, online at hospiceoftheozarks.org under the tab Ways To Give, or online to JW.org under the tab About Us.

Arrangements are being handled by Kirby & Family Funeral and Cremation Services-Mountain Home, 600 Hospital Drive Mountain Home, AR 72653. Visit the online obituary and guestbook at www.kirbyandfamily.com.