Zoe Claire (Breckenridge) Petro passed away in the comfort of her own home on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in the presence of close loved ones after a long and courageous battle with ALS.

A witness to God’s love and wonder, Zoe was born on May 1, 1947, and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She met her husband of 61 years, Emile, at the age of 14.

During her time in Mississippi, she became a cheerleader at Hattiesburg High School, National Mom of the Phi Kappa fraternity in 1976, and an especially skilled partner at Gulf Coast Trophies before moving to Perdido Key, Florida where she lived out the remainder of her days.

In Perdido Key, she kept everyone in line by handling accounting and boat closings for Edgewater Yacht Sales for many years. She also took on all decorating responsibilities at the restaurant (especially during the holidays). A remarkably classy lady, she possessed a keen eye for beauty and had an admirable specificity in the way she wanted things to be. Best believe, when “Miss Zoe” walked in the building, everybody was on their best behavior.

A woman of manifest faith, she was a prayer leader for her entire community as well as a longtime choir member at Perdido Bay Baptist Church, where she worked on a passion project to create unique banners for the building. She was quick to accept the duty of saying the blessing at dinner and always did so with honesty and tenderness.

When she was not loyally serving her Savior or her family, she spent her time doing the things she loved. She loved crafting special moments. She loved Christmas ornaments. She loved gardening. She took special pride in her tomato harvest. She loved cooking. She loved building beautiful sandcastles out of drizzled wet sand. She loved a Mexican pizza from Taco Bell or an ice cream cone from McDonald’s. She loved a nail appointment. She loved a hair appointment. She loved getting ready for a night out. She loved a Facebook comment section. She loved a caprese salad. She loved a glass of Riesling or a pomegranate martini every now and then. She loved a good series to binge. She loved a goodnight kiss and she loved a good morning cup of coffee.

In the years following her diagnosis, she kept busy by doing 1000 piece puzzles. In an earnest and beautiful effort to leave something behind, she presented an impressive number of loved ones with completed puzzles to cherish.

As a loving sister, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Zoe will be remembered for her attention to detail, her loyalty, her beautifully high standards, her poise, her signature G-Mama Cake, and her ability to love us all like only she could.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Robert Arthur Breckenridge and Cornelia Price Breckenridge; as well as her brother Darryl Breckenridge.

She is survived by her husband, Emile Petro; and their children, Penny Clarke (Joe), and Emile Petro III (Jill); as well as her brother, Neil Breckenridge; and 7 grandchildren, Ransom (Emily), Will (Ashley), Miriam (Peter), Clisby (Madeline), Caleb, Phillip, Anna; and 10 great-grandchildren, Murphy, Mary Myers, Davis, Millie, Rowan, Baylor, Walker, Georgia, Hallet Louise, and Lucy.

With the sureness of God’s promises and her own faith, Zoe can rest.

We will celebrate her beautiful life on Friday, June 12, 2026, at her home church, Perdido Bay Baptist, with a visitation at 10:30 am and service at 11:30 am. We will also celebrate in Hattiesburg, MS at St. Fabian Church on Saturday, June 13, 2026, with a visitation at 12:30 pm and funeral at 1:30 pm follow by a committal service at Highland Cemetery.