| Honored by: | Miriam E. Colvin |
| Brick location: | E:9 map |
Sonya Marie Peterson was born to Norman and Trudy Peterson in 1956 one of five children. They lived in the Humboldt, Iowa area on a farm. In her early childhood Sonya specialized in caring for and playing with baby animals on her parents’ farm as well as helping her mother with a huge garden and orchard.
Sonya was a 4-H member involved with the usual girl homemaking projects but she really favored her livestock projects - some sheep and a horse. She was the first girl to be awarded the top sheep award for her sheep her project in Humboldt County. While living in the Humboldt area she worked in a facility for mentally and physically handicapped adults.
Sonya and Thomas S. Colvin were married in 1982 and established their home in Ames. Soon she began work toward her Master's degree in Marital and Family Therapy at Iowa State University. Due to some physical problems she was unable to continue this endeavor at that time. However she had other projects to keep her busy. Tom and Sonya soon determined they'd be happier in a rural setting; therefore they purchased an acreage in the Cambridge Iowa area. Sonys'a love for baby animals didn't fade and soon baby lambs chicks ducks and goslings were finding a home on their Oxford Farm along with their children Kristel and Christopher.
Sonya never seems to lack for special projects; one being a very extensive garden. Presently she is chairman of the board of the Madrid, Iowa Home for the Aging. Another quite extensive project has been in her words "recycling a house." Sonya and Tom needed more room as their family became older and they found an unwanted house arranged for moving it to their acreage from the Des Moines area and then began the interesting part of the recycling. They placed the house on a full basement which they had dug and prepared for the house. Next they added a solar room plus a patio. Like may recycling projects there is always something else that can be done; i.e. front steps and landscaping. Sonya and her family are much involved with the Heifer Project in many different aspects of its program.
Sonya and her family have been hosts to numerous foreign students and professors along with some of the professors' families. A student from each of France and Spain have spent a summer month in their home. They have also hosted an African missionary family as well as professors from Russia Japan and a Pakistani professor with his family. I am proud to honor Sonya in this manner.
6/26/95