Elizabeth Ann Amy

Elizabeth Ann "Liz" Amy of Hastings, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on Monday, July 13, 2026, surrounded by her family.

Liz was born in St. Paul on September 12, 1933, and graduated from Humboldt High School in 1951. She built a career as a secretary before becoming a legal secretary, including working for Wendell Anderson prior to his election as Governor of Minnesota.

Liz first married Harold Edward "Pat" Peterson, and together they welcomed two children, Rick and Leanne. Following the tragic loss of Pat and Leanne in a car accident, she continued raising Rick while building a career and leaning on a close-knit circle of lifelong friends.

In 1963, she married Donald Amy and made her home in Hastings, where she worked for Dakota County at the courthouse until her retirement. She also gained Don's large extended family, whom she embraced as her own. It was at the courthouse that she met the women who would become known as "The Girls." What started as coworkers became lifelong friends who continued gathering for lunches, margaritas, and catching up long after retirement.

Liz enjoyed the simple routines of everyday life. If she found a favorite farmer, roadside vegetable stand, or grocery store, she stuck with it for years. She loved to cook and was always trying something new. Don often reminded everyone that he was "the guinea pig." She also loved a good paperback and read so many that she developed her own system for checking the shelves at Walmart to make sure she wasn't buying one she'd already read.

Retirement brought more time for the things she enjoyed most— meeting her sister for weekly trips to Cub before Hastings had one, afternoons at Treasure Island, and cheering on her favorite sports teams, even if she spent just as much time complaining about them. She was always thinking of others and often came home with a little something she knew a friend or family member would enjoy.

Liz was preceded in death by her parents, Anna Marie (Oben) and Peter Buie; her brothers, Peter, Lloyd, and Chauncey; her husbands, Harold Edward "Pat" Peterson and Donald Amy; her daughter, Leanne Peterson; and her son, Eric "Rick" Amy.

She is survived by her granddaughter, Rachel Amy (David Newman); daughter-in-law, Eileen Amy; sister, Janet Buie Stensgaard (Don Swenson); cousin, Alta Oben; and many nieces, nephews, dear friends, and neighbors, whose friendship, visits, and care remained an important part of her life throughout her later years.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. Visitation will begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by Mass at 12:00 p.m. Friends and family are invited to a luncheon following the service. Interment will take place at SEAS Cemetery at 2:30 p.m.

Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel is handling the arrangements.