Lanie Peterson died September 3, 2024 at her home on Tybee Island, after battling a number of medical issues. Her health had been precarious for some time, but she was amazingly resilient and determined.

She was born Helene McCord Lippincott in New York City in 1948, the daughter of William and Helen Lippincott. After growing up in Rye, New York, and attending Rye Country Day School, she graduated from Kent School in 1966. After two years at Skidmore College, she graduated from the University of Michigan in 1970 where she was active in the college newspaper, with a degree in journalism. She moved to San Francisco as a reporter for Newsweek and joined the Los Angeles Times, working her way up to become the paper’s political reporter. In 1986, while covering an event for the governor, she met Larry Peterson, a political reporter for a rival paper. Lanie's editors did not like her dating a rival reporter, so they moved her to medical reporting. They married a year later and bought a house in Laguna Beach where their daughter, Lindsay, was born.

When Larry got a job as an editor at The Savannah Morning News, they moved to Tybee Island and Lanie soon became a reporter for that paper as well. She also did freelance writing, and later she went back to school to become a teacher. She taught middle grades and worked as a substitute teacher while continuing to write professionally. She was also a founding member of Tybee MLK, a committed member of All Saints Episcopal Church, and an active volunteer at Oatland Island Wildlife Center.

Three years after Larry died, Lanie met John Michael Simon, and they became loving partners until his death in 2023. She continued her volunteer work at Oatland Island, where her enthusiasm for the animals was apparent to every guest she welcomed.

Lanie is survived by her daughter Lindsay Peterson of Tybee Island, GA and her daughter's partner Carrington Opper. She is also survived by her siblings: Suzanne Crase and husband Steve Crase of Denver, CO; William Lippincott and wife Dorothy Lippincott of Hampden, ME; and John Lippincott of Wesley hills, NY. 

A public gathering of family and friends will be held at 3:30 pm, Sunday, Nov 10, at All Saints Episcopal Church, 804 Jones Ave on Tybee Island. Donations may be made in her memory to Tybee MLK, All Saints Episcopal Church of Tybee Island, and Oatland Island Wildlife Center.