Audrey Myrtle Peterson Walton (Orndorff)

Audrey Myrtle (Orndorff) Peterson Walton, 87 of Perry Hall, Maryland, passed away peacefully in hospice care on April 20, 2024, after having a massive stroke four days prior.

Audrey was the daughter of the late Raymond Bernard Orndorff and Myrtle Anne (Kane) Orndorff. She was born in Bonneauville, Pennsylvania on September 24, 1936.

Audrey is survived by a loving family, who adored her, including her daughter, Pamela Elaine (Peterson) Deaver and husband Brian James Deaver, Sr., her son, Grant Goodwin Peterson, Jr. and wife Rachel Marie (Kerins) Peterson, and her daughter Christine Sandra (Peterson) Edwards. Audrey was so very proud of her seven grandchildren, who include Cherish Pamela (Deaver) Smith, Brian James Deaver II, Benjamin Grant Peterson Deaver and fiancé Amanda, Grant Gregory Peterson, Shannon Marie Peterson, John Samuel Edwards and wife Leanne, Luke Andrew Edwards and wife Faith. Audrey leaves behind her beloved great-granddaughter, Solari Ryze Smith. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Audrey was the last surviving member of a large family that included 11 siblings: Anna Mae (Orndorff) Zorbach, Vincent Joseph Orndorff, John Bernard Orndorff, James Allen Orndorff, Wilfred Francis Orndorff, Joyce Mary (Orndorff) Noel, Wallace Gerard Orndorff, Helena Virginia (Orndorff) Busick, Thomas Raymond Orndorff, and Veronica Agnes (Orndorff) Hagerman. She was also preceded in death by her ex-husband Grant Goodwin Peterson Sr. in 2022 and second husband Norris Walton in 2013.

After graduating from Delone Catholic High School in McSherrystown, Pennsylvania in 1954, Audrey secured employment as an assembly line professional at the Friez Instrument Division of Bendix Aviation Corporation in Towson, Maryland. In September of 1959 Audrey and a young Baltimore County Police Officer named Grant Peterson began dating. Their first date was bowling with Joseph & Patricia Piraino. After a courtship of 10 months, they were married at St. Ursula Catholic Church in Parkville Maryland on June 26, 1960.

Audrey & Grant created an ideal American childhood in Joppatowne for their family in the house that they built on Falconer Road in 1963. Evenings in the family room were spent working on reading and spelling skills, practicing arithmetic and times tables, working on puzzle books, coloring, watching television, playing with dolls and Lincoln Logs. A major family event was when all three kids had to get their tonsils removed. After surgery, the three kids recovered in two separate rooms and Audrey and Grant spent the entire night going back and forth with ice chips and water to comfort them! Audrey had started her career in the Harford County school system as a school secretary for Cedar Drive Elementary, and volunteered as a leader of a Blue Bird little girls troop. Generations of kids growing up in Joppatowne remember “Mrs. Peterson” as being the school secretary at Riverside Elementary in Joppatowne. As the family grew, in 1973 Audrey and Grant moved to a larger home in Joppatowne on Doncaster Road. Family life during these years included boating on the Chesapeake Bay, vacations to Ocean City, Luray Caverns, and Walt Disney World, Church services, and countless visits with grandparents, aunts and uncles. Starting in 1985 Audrey supplemented her income by becoming a real estate agent for Grempler Realty through 1993. In 1988 Audrey and Grant sold their Doncaster Road home, and had a custom home built on Terry Way in Fallston, Maryland. Before retiring from Riverside Elementary in 1996, Audrey got the opportunity to have granddaughter Cherish and grandson Brian experience having “Mimi” as their elementary school secretary!

After retirement she started an annual trek to spend the winters in Bradenton, Florida. There she met Norris Walton. In 1998 she married Norris and they purchased and remodeled the historic Rochelle Mansion in Fallston, Maryland, which was the AMC Decorator Showcase House for the year 2000. To kick off the showcase, they held a Civil War Ball on the property, with Audrey and Norris in character as Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln. The grandchildren were all young at this time, and all got to enjoy spending lots of time with Mimi in the mansion, playing croquette on the lawn, and exploring the surrounding woods and property over the next dozen years!

Audrey was the person who always got everyone together for holidays, including cousins and extended family Christmas Parties. Audrey’s amazing Thanksgiving Feasts were legendary, particularly with her homemade stuffing and traditional German sauerkraut and pork. She would entertain family with her talent for playing the piano. She always enjoyed a good competitive game of cards, like Pinochle or Golf, or dominos with her sisters and children and grandchildren. An avid reader, she also enjoyed working on crossword puzzles, and was an active member of the Red Hats. In her later years she continued to make the trek to Florida for the winters, and was very involved in her grandchildren’s lives, attending numerous sporting events, school plays, band performances, graduations, and eventually was blessed with a great-granddaughter to love and cherish. She was loved dearly and will be missed tremendously.

A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday June 29th at 10:00am at St. Stephens Roman Catholic Church 8030 Bradshaw Road, Bradshaw, Maryland 21087. The family will receive friends at the E.F. Lassahn Funeral Home, P.A., 11750 Belair Road in Kingsville on Saturday, June 29, 2024 from 11:30am until 12:00pm at which time a Celebration of Life Service will begin at 12:00pm.

A Burial Mass and Internment are planning to be held on Saturday July 20th at 11:00am at St. Joseph Catholic Church at 12 East Hanover Street, Bonneauville, Pennsylvania 17325.

The family would greatly appreciate you taking a moment to write a comment or memory on the online condolences Tribute Wall at www.lassahnfuneralhomes.com.