Chanta M. Peterson

On Thursday, August 11, 2022, Chanta M. Peterson succumbed to a quiet, insidious disease: acute onset depression. Often untreated and unspoken, this disease can be as deadly as cancer or heart disease. It is a disease of the mind and one’s mental outlook on life. She passed away at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah surrounded by family after a 4-day battle.

Born on May 17, 1976, at St. Mark’s Hospital, she was the middle child of three daughters, Lucinda being the eldest and Amber being the baby of the family. Chanta grew up to be the matriarch of the family, often leading the charge for birthdays, weddings, and funerals for friends and family alike. She was a consummate giver.

In 1996, Chanta married Inigo Quiterio and had three children: A daughter Kylee (who passed at birth), a daughter Dominique, and a son Elishah. Later divorced, in 2008, she married James Peterson who, at the time, had two sons of his own: Michael and Christopher from his previous marriage to Stephanie Jarvi-Peterson, thus, rounding out this blended family. A point of interest Chanta and James always enjoyed sharing was being the first couple in Utah State History to be married on the Senate Floor of the Utah State Senate… on Valentine’s Day… by Senate President, John Valentine! This, courtesy of long-time family friend and mentor of James', Sen. Mike Dmitrich.

Chanta enjoyed adventure, new experiences, and had a spirit of spontaneity un-matched by most. One minute she’d enjoy watering her flowers. The next, filling up with gas to hit to the road with no particular destination. She and her husband loved the weekend get-away. But it came with a catch… it could not interfere with the lives of her first and forever love, her dogs Chumlee and Khloe and our cats, Zeus, Milo, Blue and Kila (the newest member of the family).

Those who knew Chanta knew Chumlee was the light of her life. Not to say Dominique and Eli didn’t rank up there, but I think we all knew where we stood in relationship to her animals. Having grown and nurtured our blended family for 16 years, even our oldest, Michael, understood Chumlee’s birthday of July 17 would somehow trump his of July 19^th and, of course, we’d joke that we couldn’t do much for him since we spent everything on Chumlee!

Chanta is preceded in death by her mom, Denice Martin, her daughter Kylee Mae, her nephew Tyler Blais, and Niece Megan Blais.

She is survived by her husband James Peterson, her daughter Dominique Quiterio, her sisters Amber Bishop and Lucinda (David) Campbell, and her brother Michael Martinek. She has many nieces and nephews who love and cared for Chanta deeply.

A celebration of life for both she and her son, Elishah, will be held at McDougal Funeral Home located at 4330 S. Redwood Road in Taylorsville, Utah, on Thursday, December 14, 2023. The family will receive guests from 10:00 AM to 11:50 AM. Services will begin at 12:00 PM. After the memorial, we will travel a short distance to Murray City Cemetery for the interment and dedication of Elishah’s grave at 5490 S. Vine St., Murray, Utah. https://www.mcdougaldfuneralhome.com/