It is with much sorrow that we inform you that Gina Peterman, a well-loved and well-liked teacher and longtime activist in the Peace and Justice movement around Los Angeles, passed away at 2:45 AM, July 1 2021.
Gina was an avid reader and had likely read her entire library of several thousand books. She was a person of vast knowledge and passion in the areas of history and all things peace and justice. We first met at a C.I.S.P.E.S. meeting in support of the People of El Salvador back in 1990 when I immediately admired her zest, her friendliness, and unique appeal. A person of high intelligence, an inspiration and charmer, Gina could strike up a conversation with someone in an instant and you’d be sure to remain friends for a lifetime. Gina was a lover of performing arts theater and was also a member of several film clubs. She seemed to always have one or the other to attend on any given night of the week.
She was an amazing inspiration to her several hundred, perhaps thousands of elementary school age children, many of whom have grown up, moved on to college or elsewhere in their lives, forever to be inspired to be a positive force for change in the world around them.
Gina no doubt inherited her love of books from her mother, who was a remarkable journalist in her younger years. But let there be no doubt, Gina’s passion for peace and justice likely comes by way of her father, from whom she took many a lesson. Her father was one of a small handful of Americans who volunteered to come to the aid of the people of the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War in 1937 in its fight against General Francisco Franco’s fascist Nationalist Party. While there were other volunteers from other countries, those from the US who went to the aid of the people of Spain comprised what became known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Upon returning to the U.S. from Spain, her father’s passport was summarily revoked and stamped “Premature Anti-fascist.” Though without bearing arms, Gina was certain to follow in her father’s footsteps in the struggle of the many against such oppression and injustice everywhere.
Her spirit, her gusto, her wit and wisdom will be missed by many.
May her memory be a blessing.
Baruch dayan ha’emet
Gina Peterman PRESENTÈ
March 6, 1947 – July 1, 2021
Sincerely,
Her friend among many,
Larry (Lev) Alpert
