Ruth (Cissie) Pettersen

Published 12:00 am Sunday, July 26, 2009

Ruth (Cissie) Feagin Shuptrine Pettersen,71, of Selma, AL and formerly of Nashville, TN, devoted mother, avid gardener and talented artist, died July 24, 2009, at her home in Selma.
Born November 27, 1937, she was the daughter of Cecil Fontaine and Ruth Feagin Shuptrine of Selma. After graduating from Albert G. Parrish High School in 1955, she at-tended the School of Art at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, married and moved to Nashville where she was a homemaker. In the late 1960s and early 1970s she was an active horticultural society and garden club member, volunteering countless hours for the annual Swan Ball and Christmas at Cheekwood fundraisers supporting Nashville’s Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Art Museum. She was Christmas tree production chair in 1968 and Swan Ball decorations co-chair in 1972. She enjoyed painting, printmaking, gardening and flower arranging all of her life and loved to share her knowledge and talents with others.
Mrs. Pettersen is survived by two children, daughter Dorothy (Dot) P. Kent and husband John of Fort Worth, Tx; son Charles E. Pettersen of Fairhope, Al; and granddaughter Joy Grace Kent. Other survivors include sisters Celia S. Alison and husband Dr. James, Jr. of Selma; Mabel S. Baldwin and husband Bill of Richmond, Va. She is also survived by nieces and nephews Olivia Alison of Birmingham; Fontaine Alison of Chatanooga; James F. Alison III and wife Susan of Birmingham; Ruth Russ and husband Miles of Atlanta; Margaret Pendergrass and husband Paul of Atlanta.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 28, 2009, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Selma, followed by burial at New Live Oak Cemetery. Memorials may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church or Cahaba Hospice.
Please visit http://www.lawrence-brownservice.com to make online condolences to the family.