The funeral service for Mabel Peterson will be Monday, January 21, 2013 at 1:00 PM in the Trent Baptist Church, Trent, SD. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the start of the service. Interment will be in the Trent Cemetery.
Mabel Christine was born to William and Margaret Frick on June 3, 1911, in Salem S.D. She was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Spencer, SD. Mabel was the younger of two children and her father died in a grain elevator accident less than six months after her birth. As a child of a single parent, Mabel soon developed a keen understanding of the value of a dollar, the importance of hard work, and self-reliance. Although money was scarce in Mabel’s childhood home (her mother refused to accept any public welfare), she was blessed with a loving mother and the support of many aunts and uncles. After graduating from the Salem Public Schools, she worked for the Central West Public Service Co. After several years of employment she had saved enough money to attend the Nettleton Business College. When she graduated from Nettleton, she worked for several companies in the Sioux Falls area including Policyholders National Insurance Company.
On April 19, 1941 she married Melvin A. Peterson of Trent, S.D. They lived on the family farm and after retiring, moved to Sioux Falls, S.D. They enjoyed traveling and visited many parts of the United States along with several countries in Europe. Mabel was a member of the Trent Baptist Ladies Auxiliary in Trent and First Baptist Auxiliary in Sioux Falls and was also a member of the Minnehaha Mandskor Auxiliary for many years. She also volunteered for many years at the Sioux Valley Hospital when she lived in Sioux Falls. She enjoyed reading, something she did up until her last days. Mabel also enjoyed sewing and appropriately enough, had her own room called her “Sewing Room.”
Her husband died in 1994 and she continued to live in their home until 1998. She then moved to Cedar Falls, IA. to be near family. For the last 11 years she lived in a retirement center in Rochester, MN.
Mabel passed away on Thursday, January 17, 2013 at the Samaritan Bethany Home in Rochester, MN. She was 101 and was preceded in death by her parents, husband, a son and older sister, Esther.
She is survived by a son, Gerald Peterson and wife Marlene of Arlington, TX., a daughter Carol Robbins and husband David of Appleton, WI., and a daughter Gayle Baird and husband Thomas of Rochester, MN.
Her grandchildren are Mark Peterson, North Richland Hills, TX, Matthew Peterson, Arlington, TX, Daren Robbins, Bangkok, Thailand, Teresa Robbins Madamba, Huntington Beach, CA, David Baird, Bloomington, MN, Bryan Baird, Owatonna, MN., and Kimberly Baird Kaufield, of Longmont, CO. She also has 5 great-grandchildren Kali, Craig, and Shane Peterson in Texas and Amelia and Samuel Baird in MN.
A son, Dennis Lee, died in a farming accident in 1951 at the age of 8. www.kahlerfh.com/