When I was a youngster, annoying my dear mother, she would express her frustration by exclaiming, "I don't know what I would do with 10 kids like you!"

My mother's words came to mind recently when I had the pleasure of interviewing Nancy Petersen for this article—because Petersen has been a foster mother to more than 300 children.

Nancy Fredlund was born in Denver, but as soon as she was old enough to travel, her mother took her to Washington, D.C., to be with her father, who was a bank examiner during the Great Depression. In 1937 the family moved to a farm in Drexel, Mo. A year later, Fredlund's father died. At the time she was 7 years old and the middle child in a family of seven children. Her family eventually settled in Kansas City, Mo., where she attended public schools.

At age 15 she accepted a blind date with James "Pete" Petersen, who, like Fredlund, was of Scandinavian descent. Three months after her graduation from Southwest High School, she and Pete married. She was just 17.

Pete worked for Western Electric and the Bendix Corp. before going into business for himself—first as a partner in a small manufacturing company and later as the founder of a medical supply manufacturing company. The Petersens had two biological children, James and Pamela, and four grandchildren.

During the 1970s, with her two children gone from home and her husband still working, Petersen became bored with her empty-nest environment. An advertisement on television about foster parents ignited an interest, so Petersen and her husband volunteered. Petersen had made it clear to Johnson County Foster Care (JCFC) that she preferred to take preschool-age girls. Soon, however, she received a call informing her of a 14-year-old boy who really needed a home. Petersen relented.

"He was tough as shoe leather," recalls Petersen.

About the second day, Paul was picked up by the local police for selling marijuana at the community swimming pool. But Paul lived with the Petersens until age 18, at which time he joined the Army Paratroopers. Smiling, Petersen recounted, "He never got in trouble again; he was a good kid."

Soon after Paul arrived, Petersen received a call from JCFC pleading for her to take Mike, a troubled 6-year-old. The agency promised she would only have him for a couple of weeks—but Petersen cared for the boy until age 11, when he was adopted.

While Petersen was caring for Paul and Mike, she accepted a baby named Gary when his mother was found murdered. Gary remained with the Petersens for two years, after which he was reunited with his father, who was released from prison.
Petersen has lost track of how many foster children she has cared for.

"I know it's over 300," she said.

One wall of her home holds more than 100 photographs of her children. Regretfully, said Petersen, "I just don't have room for all of them."

Petersen has been "Mom" to girls and boys of all ages, from babies to teens, and her children have run the gamut of ethnic groups and races. She took in a baby who was born in a toilet and a newborn saturated with drugs. At one time she had as many as eight children in the home, which was always an exciting "mixed community," she said.

Her husband died in 2006, and Petersen still lives in the same house in Roeland Park that they moved into 54 years ago. At age 79, after 32 years of being a foster mother, Petersen has retired. She does, however, bask in the glory of receiving phone calls and Christmas cards from her children. Some of them return for visits, opening the front door and yelling, "Mom!"

Petersen related that her children are "scattered all over the country"—and there are some she would like to hear from but doesn't.

She is still active with a company she and others formed years ago, called Mid-America Children's Services, Inc., which collects clothing, diapers, and toys from Wal-Mart and other stores. She organizes and separates the items in her garage before they are distributed to foster care and organizations for the homeless.

She is active in her church and teaches a Sunday School class to children during the winter. She enjoys bird-watching and has a bird sanctuary in her back yard.