Hello Everyone! My name is Kirsten and I am reaching out to ask for help for my cousin, Renee Petersen, to help cover funeral and legal costs since her father, Don Petersen’s passing.

Renee is her father’s only child and is genuinely one of the sweetest and most resilient people I have ever met, and she needs help right now. Don did not have any life insurance or savings, and has left a lot of debt in his wake. He was struggling with Liver Cirrhosis, and was on the Transplant list in hopes of getting a second chance at life. Unfortunately, even though he was careful and took all the precautions he could, he contracted COVID-19, likely during one of his hospital stays, and passed on December 3rd.

During this time, he was surrounded by a few key people who made Don believe that they cared, but they did not have his best intentions at heart. As Don got sicker and then contracted COVID-19, Renee was kept in the dark, and when Don passed on December 3rd, no one let Renee know. As Christmas was closing in, Renee was worried when there was no contact with her father, and was eventually informed on December 21st of his passing. Instead of allowing Renee to say goodbye or grieve, she was shut out for weeks, and then informed via voicemail while at work.

Renee works as a music teacher, which is something that made her father proud - he was a huge music buff and musician in the Sacramento area from 1970 right up until he passed in 2021. He also offered services to other musicians as a booking agent starting back in 1989. He was a gift to the music community here in town, and everyone knew his name.

Between the time that Don passed, and when Renee got the news, the individuals holding all the cards had gained access to Don’s house and had cherry picked through his possessions, taking some very valuable and even some sentimental items, which have still not been returned yet. Don did not leave a will or any documentation of what he wanted to have done with his home or possessions, even though he always told Renee that he wanted her to have everything, and to keep his music legacy alive.

Renee wants to give her dad this wish, and wants to preserve his memory, but she needs help to do this. With her job as a music teacher, she does not have the means to fight everyone, and provide Don the memorial and celebration of life that he deserves. She is also a full time graduate student on top of working full time, and the stress of everything happening is becoming too much to shoulder alone. This is why we have turned to GoFundMe to ask for help.

I am hoping to help Renee raise $9,100 to cover the costs of a memorial and celebration of life that will really encapsulate who Don was as a person and absolute legend in the Music Community of Sacramento. These funds will also go towards legal costs associated with settling his estate, ensuring that his home, possessions, and music catalog are handled properly and do not fall into the wrong hands.

Renee has been struggling so hard to make sure that everything is taken care of, and that she is respecting her father’s memory. She has a whole support network, but that support has only been able to carry her so far. I hope that you will consider donating and leaving a message of encouragement to Renee, because she could really use it right about now.