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Marita Svea (Widstrom) Pettersson, 84, of Old Saybrook went home to be with the Lord, surrounded by her children, on May 28 after a rapid decline in health. She was born Aug. 26, 1934, in Örebrö, Sweden, the daughter of Eric Alfred and Svea Ottilia (Pettersson) Widstrom. She married her childhood sweetheart Lennart K. Pettersson on Aug. 8, 1954.

She is survived by her daughter Jeanette Tilley and her husband William of Southington, her son Jeffrey Pettersson and his wife Karen of Benbrook, Texas, and her daughter Janice Pettersson of Old Saybrook; three grandchildren, JonEric Pettersson and his wife Adrienne, Nic Pettersson and his wife Natalie, and Danielle Pettersson; four great-grandsons, Owen and Noah, and Graham and Wesley; and two great-granddaughters, Mandy and Clara. She is also survived by her sister Yvonne Andersson and her husband Rune; her brother Dennis Widstrom and his wife Paula; and many nieces and nephews and cousins in the United States and in Sweden. She was predeceased by her beloved husband and her parents.

Sweden was the land of Marita’s birth and childhood, but America became the home of her heart after she immigrated to Connecticut in 1953, where she married Lennart and raised her family.

Marita had a passion for connecting people with the God she loved to the very end of her life. She was a member of Gideon’s Auxiliary Women for many years, an ardent supporter of ministry to the children of Kolkata, India, and a leader of ministry in her church community wherever she lived.

God’s love and compassion were hallmarks of her life, with prayer and music woven deeply into her life and ministry. Marita sang beautifully, raising praises to God with her soprano joy.

To be part of her life was to know that you are loved. She shared the truth of God’s Word, music that had meaning, and the beauty of God’s creation, showing hospitality to neighbor, friend, family, and stranger alike. Her children rise up and called her blessed.

There will be a memorial service June 1 at 10 a.m. at Grace Church, 336 Main St., Old Saybrook. Interment will be in Riverside Cemetery, Old Saybrook, at the convenience of the family. Memorial donations may be made to the Gideons International, PO Box 55, Old Mystic, CT 06372, or (for India’s children) The General Council of Assemblies of God, 1445 N. Booneville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802-1894, account 600001-5060603.