Dorothy Petersen

DOROTHY PETERSEN
Dorothy R. Petersen, 91, of Fairview, Tennessee formerly of Atlantic, Iowa, passed away December 29, 2016, at St. Thomas West Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
The daughter of Edwin and Viola (Frank) Meyer, she was born February 8, 1925, on her parent's farm near Cumberland. As she grew from a baby up to eight years, her grandmother took care of her and her cousin, Norman Frank. They were babies together as her mother was not well and Norman’s mother taught school so she and Norman grew up together. He always seemed like her brother. They kept the closeness through the years and he was very special to her. She attended school at Springdale and after that did housework for many people, working mostly for new parents with new-born babies, and helping her grandmother Frank as grandma was not well. They would get up early in the morning at 4:00 to mix bread making eight loaves every day as there were five men to feed in the family. In those early years, people did their own butchering of hogs and cattle. In winter time they would hang a hog and a steer in the corn crib to keep frozen. Then neighbors would come together and cut up the meat and share it. Also they would clean the casings and make ring sausage, bacon and ham and then put it in the smoke house for a few days. What a great flavor! They also made their own lard to bake with and laundry soap. During the war Dorothy worked for an egg plant in Atlantic called Swift and Co. When her baby brother came along she enjoyed changing his diaper and rocking him! We still have the rocker she used!
On February 6, 1946 Loren C. Petersen and Dorothy R. Meyer were married. Loren had returned home from the War on January 13, 1946 after being in the army for five years. They started farming on March 1st at a farm owned by his brother LeRoy Petersen. They lived and farmed in the Atlantic area for thirty-eight years. To this union five children were born: Kathryn, Dwight, Karen, Donna Lou and Debra Sue, twins that were still-born. She loved her precious husband, children, sons-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They were her angels. Her family was the light of Dorothy’s life. She also had a lot of friends as Dorothy was a people person. In 1979 when Loren’s health failed, Loren and Dorothy moved to Atlantic. At that time, Dorothy was employed at the Atlantic Care Center as a nurse’s aide and later worked at the Heritage House in Atlantic. She loved the residents and she always said “They become part of you when you take care of them.”
She always raised a big vegetable garden and did a lot of canning. Her aim was to have every jar full of vegetables, fruits, pickles and preserves on the shelf before winter came. Our cave was always full of potatoes, squash, apples, and home-canned goods. My mother, Dorothy, would always say “What a rich blessing this is to look at the food the Lord gave us”. Dorothy looked forward to getting ready for her family to come home such as cooking and baking. As one of the granddaughters said “When I go into Grandpa and Grandma’s house, I go to the kitchen first to see what all Grandma has made for us, and the table is covered with baked things she has made”. It was always full of love. Dorothy enjoyed life. She lived most of her life in Cass County and loved farming beside her husband, helping in the field, cleaning hog sheds and helping with the baby pigs and baby calves. She raised a lot of baby chicks every year. She dressed 800 chickens every year for a lot of years to help pay the vet bills, farm gas and feed bills.
She would dress 15 chickens in the morning and 15 in the afternoon and deliver them in the evening to places they should go. She wanted to help us children go through school after graduation from high school. She also helped us to have sewing machines so we could sew our clothes. Our parents felt their children were real blessings to them and that they helped their parents through a lot of tough times. We all worked together wherever we could to help one another. Our mother used to tell our Dad and us children “We are not rich in money but we certainly are rich in love for one another”. I wish everyone could have seen her big flower garden. Our mother was in heaven when she could work in her garden. When I would walk out to the garden (very softly) I could hear my mother pray while she was hoeing the garden, praying for us all and thanking our sweet Lord for all of our blessings. She picked bouquets from her garden to deliver them to sick folks in hospitals and nursing homes or for anyone. Momma was saved when she was twelve years old when Arthur Rodgers was preaching at a Bible conference at Lyman when they used to have the conference in a large tent for meetings. She was saved through the Bible verse, Romans 10:9, and was baptized at Lyman. Dorothy attended the Atlantic Gospel Chapel in Atlantic until she moved to Fairview, Tennessee where she attended the Nashville Gospel Chapel. Mom loved her chapel family in all three chapels.
She was preceded in death by her husband Loren Petersen; a daughter Kathryn C. McCarty; a son Dwight Petersen; twin daughters, Debbie Sue and Donna Lou; her parents, Edwin and Viola Meyer; grandparents John and Elizabeth Frank and August and Kathryn Meyer; her sister Louetta (Meyer) Olson-Schultz; her brother-in-law Robert Olson; nephew Rick Olson; father-in-law Chris Petersen, mother-in-law Mary Ann Petersen and several aunts and uncles.
She is survived by a daughter, Karen (Larry) Ridlen of Fairview, TN; grandchildren, Melissa (Chad) DeLano and their children Everett, Jackson, Cody, and Jacob; Elizabeth (Brandon) Taylor and their children Cheyenne and B.J.; Jennifer (Dylan) Pine and their daughter Kaitlynn; Stephanie (Anthony) Curatolo and their son Liam, all of Fairview, TN, Chris (Heather) Petersen of Commerce Township, MI, Sharon (Brad) Goff and and their children Graceann, Brianna, Ethan, and Bryson of McKinney, TX; son-in-law Michael (Eileen) McCarty and children Roseann (Bob) Blank and Kristin (DuWayne) McCarty Doner of Council Bluffs, IA; a brother, Darrell (June) Meyer of Modesto, CA; and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017, at Roland's with Pastor Michael Eells officiating. Interment will be in Weirich Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be Monday evening, January 2, 2017, 5-8 p.m. at the Roland Funeral Home.
Roland Funeral Service of Atlantic, Iowa is caring for Dorothy's family and the arrangements. Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com

IN REMEMBRANCE OF
Dorothy Roseann (Meyer) Petersen
BORN
February 8, 1925 ~ Her parent’s farm near Cumberland

ENTERED INTO REST
December 29, 2016 ~ Nashville, Tennessee
At the age of
91 years, 10 months, and 21 days

FUNERAL SERVICE
Tuesday, January 3, 2017 2:00 P.M.
Roland Funeral Home ~ Atlantic, Iowa

OFFICIATING
Michael Eells

MUSICAL SELECTIONS
“Some Golden Daybreak” By: Julie Eells
“What Friend We Have in Jesus”
By: Julie Eells and Heather Schorle
“Serenaded By Angels” By: Mike McCarty

MUSICIAN
Janet Freeman

CASKET BEARERS
Chris Petersen
Brad Goff
Chad DeLano
Brandon Taylor
Dylan Pine
Anthony Curatolo

HONORARY CASKET BEARERS
Doug Schorle
Grant Nelson
Jeff Westphal
Eric McLaren
Ned Brown
Bob Maley
Bud Lindeman
Howard Anderson
C. G. Lindeman
Art Westphal
Bob Lindeman

FLOWER COMMITTEE
Grant and Mary Nelson
Eric and Rita McLaren

COMMITTAL SERVICE
Matt Phelan
Weirich Cemetery ~ Southeast of Lyman, Iowa

Please join the family for lunch at the Atlantic Gospel Chapel,
13th & Elm Streets, Atlantic, following the committal service.