Cordelia "Tudy" Peters

Cordelia "Tudy" Peters of Cape Girardeau passed away Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, at her home. She was born Dec. 18, 1940, in Cape Girardeau to Norman and Anneta Meyer Schrock. She was raised on the family farm with her younger sister Carletta Schrock Bohnert. She spent her early years milking cows, working in the garden and learning the benefits of hard work and dedication. She was raised to love the Lord and graduated from Cape Girardeau Catholic High School in 1958. While in high school, she played the trumpet, but never claimed to carry a tune while singing. Her high school studies centered around bookkeeping. She was always good with numbers and could calculate them in her head quicker than you could put the numbers in a calculator. She married the love of her life, Herman ("Poppa" as she called him) Peters, on April 28, 1962, at St Mary’s Cathedral in Cape Girardeau. If you have ever seen them walking anywhere together, they always held each other’s hands. They loved God and prayed the rosary together daily. Family was everything to them, and they raised three children in the home they built together in rural Cape Girardeau County and were members of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Cape Girardeau. Cordelia has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. So much joy was brought to her life by spending time with the kids. She loved getting on the floor and playing with them, letting them dig and play in the mud for hours in her garden and attending any events or games they were involved in at the time. True wealth was measured in relationships and memories, not worldly possessions. She possessed a passion for healthcare and began her career at the “Old Saint Francis Hospital”. She worked alongside the nuns and supported healthcare in the community, not through direct patient care, but by being the “behind the scenes” office support through a variety of positions at Saint Francis and also at other physician offices throughout the community. Upon retirement, her commitment to healthcare continued. She worked alongside friends at Saint Francis to develop the Center for Joint Replacement. She was the first volunteer within this program starting in 2007 and continued to volunteer within the program routinely until her recent health prevented her from her volunteer work. She enjoyed supporting the patients with their exercises, encouraging them to keep working on their rehabilitation and bringing them ice cream, cold packs or whatever they might need. She rolled more towels than you can count on the rehab unit and folded t-shirts for more than 1,000 patients! Hard work and long hours were part of Cordelia's DNA. Her nickname of "Sarge" was well deserved due to her drive and focus on getting a task done. She not only had a successful career outside of the home, but she also was the bookkeeper for the family business, Peters Heating and Air Conditioning, for 53 years starting in 1968. While you might think that filled all her time, she still found time for other things that brought her joy including puzzles (5,000-piece puzzles on a couple occasions), crafts (always making gifts for friends and family), gardening (her garden fed everyone!), making dumplings and homemade rolls (family favorites, and she always knew everyone’s favorite food treat and would have it available when they came to visit) and playing cards with family and friends. Survivors include her spouse, Herman Peters; sons, Gary (Becky) Peters and John (Jill) Peters; daughter, Christy (Keith) Kosharek; grandchildren, Audrey (Zac) Gendron, Collin (Maci) Peters, Renee Peters and Steven (Joanna) Peters; great-grandchildren, Sawyer and Kal Gendron and Warren Peters; sister, Carletta Bohnert; sisters-in-law, Marie Peters, Kathy Peters and Shirley Thiele; and brother-in-law, Ralph Peters. Preceding Cordelia in death were her parents, Norman and Anneta Schrock, and brothers-in-law, Albert Peters, Ted Peters, Clarence (Pat) Peters and Leroy Peters. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau, with rosary and parish prayers beginning at 7 p.m. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 22, at St. Vincent's Catholic Church in Cape Girardeau, with the Rev. Rick Jones officiating. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. Cordelia and Herman wish to thank all the medical staff for the care and support they provided to her and her family; the kindness shown does not go unnoticed. She shared in her last days that she always tried to leave someone with a smile on their face. The medical staff who cared for her recently would agree with the sense of humor she had and the kind spirit she possessed. Her wish is summed up in this poem “Afterglow”: "I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one, I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done. I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways, of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days. I’d like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun, of happy memories that I leave when life on Earth is Done." (author unknown) In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or for Masses. Online condolences may be made at www.fordandsonsfuneralhome.com.

Tributes

Cordelia "Tudy" Peters

December 18, 1940 - August 18, 2025