BERTIL JOHN PETERSON
Funeral services for Bertil J. Peterson,
83, of Aurelia, will be 10:30 A.M. Tuesday, November 11, 2008, at the
Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Cherokee, with Pastor Jim Steen
officiating. Burial will be in the Good Hope Cemetery, rural Cherokee.
Visitation will be Monday from 2:00 P.M. till 8:00 P.M., with the family
being present from 6:00 to 8:00, at the Redig Funeral Home in Aurelia.
In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established.
Bertil John Peterson was born on February
28, 1925, south of Aurelia, Iowa, the son of August and Anna (Anderson)
Peterson. He was baptized and confirmed at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in
Cherokee. He attended school in Aurelia through the eighth grade when he
joined his father in the family farm. On September 23, 1945, Bertil
married Vera Robertson Rud of Cleghorn at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.
Bertil was on various church and community
boards. His first love was farming and raising cattle and hogs. His
family was his main focus, and he loved to have them around as much as
possible. In the 1970’s Bertil and Vera purchased a trailer at Sand Bar
Beach on Big Spirit Lake. They loved to fish and spend time with friends
and family. As the family grew they decided to purchase a cabin on Big
Spirit, with a beach for the grandkids to play on. The grandchildren
spent much of their summers with aunts and uncles and cousins, and have
many fond memories and funny stories to share of the times spent with
their grandparents, both at the lake and farm. Due to Vera’s health they
moved into Aurelia in the late 1990’s.
Bertil died Friday, November 7, 2008, at the
Sunset Knoll Care and Rehab Center in Aurelia.
Preceding Bertil in death were his parents,
his wife Vera on March 7, 2005, one daughter, Sandra Jean, one grandson,
Brian Buenger, one sister, Marian Peterson, and one brother-in-law,
Kenneth Ohlson.
Survivors include four daughters, Janet Kay
and her husband Norman Buenger of Holstein, Kathy Jo and her husband Ed
Oie of Eagan, MN, Karen Lynn Hirschman of Spirit Lake, and Julie Ann and
her husband Michael Johnson of Winnebago, MN. In the 1950’s Keith Tolzin
came to live with the Peterson family, and is like a son. Keith and his
wife Jan live in Ellensburg, WA. Also surviving are ten grandchildren,
six great-grandchildren, one brother, Harold and his wife Marilee
Peterson of Aurelia, one sister, Betty Ohlson of Cherokee, one nephew
and several nieces, and other relatives and friends.
