Nicole Lee (Faber) Peterson, age 42, of Birmingham, Alabama and formerly of Monticello, Minnesota, died unexpectedly in Birmingham on Friday, July 15, 2022.
Nicole was born (along with her fraternal twin sister, Jennifer) to Sharon Faber and Bruce Christian on March 22, 1980, at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. Her entire childhood was spent in Monticello, from attending Pumpkin Patch preschool to Monticello High School, where she graduated in the top ten of the Class of 1998. She and Jennifer, known as “the Faber twins,” were nearly inseparable as they grew up, attended school, and participated in numerous extracurricular activities together.
Following high school, Nicole spent her freshman year of college at Bethel University and transferred her sophomore year to the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where she graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Systems and Technology and a minor in journalism. During her college career, Nicole participated in Campus Crusade for Christ, received various honors and completed internships with General Mills in Golden Valley, Minnesota and Reiman Publications in Greendale, Wisconsin.
Nicole began her successful career in the food journalism industry in 2002 at Southern Progress Corporation in Birmingham, where she worked as a Test Kitchen Professional. She styled food, developed recipes and taste-tested various dishes for publications such as Southern Living, Cooking Light, Allrecipes.com and more. Four years later, Nicole relocated to Des Moines, Iowa, where she continued her food styling career for Meredith Corporation. There, she developed recipes and styled food for such publications and labels as Better Homes & Gardens, Midwest Living, and Kraft. Nicole even served as the senior food editor for a handful of projects, including Better Homes and Gardens’ Grilling, Christmas Cookies, and Slow Cooker Favorites.
In 2008, Nicole met Bryan Peterson, and they married in Des Moines, Iowa on February 14, 2009. She began a new career that day as a devoted military wife to a member of the United States Marine Corps. Throughout their 13-year marriage, Bryan and Nicole were stationed at the Marine Corps Recruiting Station in Des Moines; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia; 9th Marine Corps Recruiting District in Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois; and Headquarters Marine Corps at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. While Bryan was deployed to Afghanistan for 2013 and Africa in 2015-2016, Nicole focused on living life well at home, teaching and training their two young children, Brody (born in 2010) and Grady (born in 2012). They were blessed with a third child, Hazel, in 2017 while stationed in Illinois.
Nicole was a “foodie,” through and through. If it was edible, her passion was to turn it into something both beautiful and delectable. She made much of her food from scratch and focused on nourishing her family well. No doubt, her family was the best-fed family in town. She continued to freelance in recent years and had dreams of opening her own bakery and coffee shop one day.
In addition to cooking and baking, Nicole’s interests included entertaining, hostessing, decorating, running, photography, gardening and music. She was known to begin and end her days with music. She loved the beach, coffee shops and Christmastime. A fierce competitor, Nicole participated in the Stroller Warriors, a group of military moms with children who did 5K and 10K races together. She would often place first in her category.
Above all, Nicole’s faith in Jesus Christ was her foundation in life and primary source of strength and hope. In 2007, she was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of traveling to South Africa on a church missions trip. There, she spent 10 days working with AIDS infants and helping plant gardens.
Nicole will be remembered for her beautiful, contagious smile; her incredible work ethic and determination to succeed; and her fulfilled roles in life as cherished daughter, precious sister and sister-in-law, beloved wife and gifted homemaker, loving and dedicated homeschool mother and loyal friend. She was “Auntie Cole” to her 19 nephews and nieces. One of her greatest joys in life was to serve those around her. She was deeply loved, and our lives won’t be the same without her.
She is survived by her former spouse, Bryan Peterson of Warrenton, Virginia; their children, Brody, Grady and Hazel; her mother, Sharon Faber of Monticello; her father, Bruce (Karen) Christian of Buffalo; twin sister, Jennifer (Erran) Smith of Becker; half-siblings, Tina (Thad) Register of Yulee, Florida; Laurie (Todd) Brand of Hamel; Natasha (Mike) Roberts of Wayzata; Blake Christian of St. Michael; Brianna (Josh) Lennox of Rosemount; former parents-in-law Ken and Cindy Peterson of Sunrise Beach, Missouri; former brother-in-law Eric (Billie) Peterson of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; nephews Caiden, Cullen, Connor, Cieran, Jamal, Corey, Billy, Frank, John, Samuel and Finnegan; nieces Jaida, Jolie, Jinae, Leah, Anna, Emily, Kennedy and Janelle; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, former colleagues and friends.
She is preceded in death by her grandparents, two maternal aunts, a maternal uncle and two maternal cousins.
A memorial service will be held in Nicole’s honor on Saturday, August 6th, 2022, 11am, at the Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home (611 Rose Drive, Big Lake, Minnesota), with Pastor Jacob Hatfield officiating. Visitation will be held one hour before the service.
