Marilee Ann (Peterson) Cortez

Marilee Cortez Obituary

Marilee was born to Robert and Evelyn Peterson on May 26, 1940.  She and her sister Judie were raised in Santa Rosa. Marilee graduated from Santa Rosa High School; attended Empire College, and worked at Gehrke Realty for over 30 years.

During high school she met her first husband, James Doyle. They had three wonderful daughters; Becky Crowder (Dave), Vikki Wilhelmsen (Pete) and Vonne Papastathis (Steve).

Her faith was always a part of her life; attending Santa Rosa Christian Church then St. Rose Catholic Church. During a bible study she met her second husband, Dan. They were married for over 26 years, until a long term fight with cancer took her home. She requested everyone attend church and pray for her family and friends.

Marilee was survived by her girls; her cherished grandchildren; Angie and Richard Thiel of Greenview, CA; Chris and Hillary Bingham of Glendive, MT; Zachary and Natalie Papastasis of Grants Pass, OR; Chelsea and Jon Evans of Dixon, CA; Jennifer and Brian Casperson of Merlin, OR and Jordan and Sophia Wilhelmsen of Healdsburg, CA; her nine great-grandchildren; cousins Elaine Lyons and Marrilyn Worley and many cherished family members.

Her kindness, warm smile and love of life will be missed.

We would like to thank the medical staff at Providence that made “Team Marilee” such a success for so long.

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