Mildred E. Peterson, 104, a resident of  Good Samaritan Society at Battle Lake died May 5, 2019.

A Memorial Service for Mildred will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, July 19, 2019 at the Prince of Peace Chapel of the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon, SD.  Pastor Barb West will officiate with burial to follow in the Greenhill Cemetery at Lemmon.

Mildred was born November 22, 1914 in Spring Butte Township, Adams County, North Dakota to homesteaders Peter J. and Hilda L. (Johnson) Peterson.  She was baptized and confirmed at Cedar Creek Lutheran Church (later Prince of Peace Lutheran Church) in Adams County North Dakota.  She attended Spring Butte schools and graduated from Lemmon High School at Lemmon, South Dakota in 1932.  During 1932-33 she worked in Fergus Falls, Minnesota prior to attending Valley City State University to obtain a teaching certificate.  She taught in Richland and Stutsman counties in North Dakota and in the Valley City Junior High School.  In 1943 she received her Bachelor's Degree from Valley City State University.

In her younger years she enjoyed sports and played on women's softball and bowling teams.  While living in Valley City, her bowling team won the North Dakota State tournament.

During World War II  she moved to Portland, Oregon and was employed for several years by  the Portland Park and Recreation Department as the recreation director of a Community Center.  In 1948 she returned to teaching and taught 30 years in Portland, Oregon elementary and high schools.  Her Master's Degree was earned at the University of Oregon.    Mildred was active in many professional, educational and church organizations. She served on the national board of the Lutheran Daughters of the Reformation (LDR), a national organization for working Lutheran Women, and worked to combine that organization with the larger Lutheran Women's group now known as WELCA.  She served on the Board of Directors of the Portland Teachers Credit Union for 27 years. After retiring from teaching she worked two years in the Portland offices of the Internal Revenue Service. She was also a volunteer tax preparer in the Internal Revenue Service Volunteer Income Tax Assistant (VITA) program for ten years.  In Portland she was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church for nearly fifty years.

After  enjoying  retirement and  her home and garden in Portland for  ten years she began to have vision problems and made the decision to move back to the Upper Midwest.  She established her home in Fergus Falls, MN  in 1992 when she became a resident of the Pioneer Retirement Community.   While living at Pioneer Pointe, she was an active volunteer at the Pioneer Care Center for a number of years.  In January of 2016, Mildred became a resident at Good Samaritan Society in Battle Lake, MN. She is a member of Augustana Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls.

Her parents, and brothers, Philip Peterson and Leslie Peterson and sister Ruth Froslee, nephew, Michael Froslee and grandnephew, Bryan  Peterson  preceded her in death.

Twelve nieces and nephews, who were an important part of her life, survive her. The nieces and nephews are: Janice (Roland) Saetre, Gregory (Gail) Froslee, In-law niece, Ginger Froslee, Vining,  Bruce (Susan)  Froslee, Clitherall,   Karen (John) Mack, Colorado Springs, CO., Ardell Eide, Mesa, AZ,  Rodney (Jan) Peterson,  Douglas (Lindi) Peterson, Keith (Cindy) Peterson and Lynn Peterson all of Lemmon,SD. and nieces, Connie (Bill) Hasz of Cataldo, ID and Jody (Dave) Swift of  Belle Fourche, SD.  as well as  28 grandnephews and grandnieces.