Soren Petersen

SOREN PETERSEN

Soren Peter Petersen, 74, of Atlantic, passed away Thursday, March 12, at the Atlantic Nursing & Rehab Center.

The son of Soren Peter & Johanna Katherine Carlsen Petersen, he was born May 10, 1940, in Mason City, Iowa. He attended the Iowa School for the Deaf, and graduated in 1960. While there, he met his future wife, Judith Siders. They were married September 18, 1965, in Des Moines, and made Atlantic their home for nearly 50 years.

After graduation, Soren gained employment at the Atlantic Bookbinding Co. in Atlantic, Iowa. He bought the business outright in 1992, and was the sole proprietor until his retirement in 2010. For 50 years, he created beautifully hand-bound volumes of newspapers, journals, textbooks, Bibles, and individual books. Many of these books had been in families for over 100 years, brought to Soren in unusable and tattered condition. When he finished with the books, they were restored to near-perfect condition, much to the delight of the families who cherished these books.

Soren was the hard-copy binder for nearly 100 daily newspapers in the Midwest. Newspapers sent subscriptions to him, and every day for months, he would organize all of the dailies that would arrive in the mail. Depending on the newspaper, he would bind them in a hard-copy volume monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly.

Outside of business, he was a prominent and busy fast-pitch men's softball umpire for local leagues. His son often heard stories from people about how great an umpire he was, usually followed by an anecdote of a visiting team trying to argue about a call between innings, while his father had his back to the field. Visiting teams later learned he was deaf! He volunteered many hours umpiring Little League games, often umpiring the season's championship games. Soren was an avid fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Kansas City Chiefs & the New York Yankees.

He was inducted into the Iowa School for the Deaf Hall of Fame for Personal Achievement in Business and Civic, in 2013.

Soren is survived by his children, Samuel (Gale) Petersen of West Des Moines, Iowa; Johanna (Kirk) Bradley of Atlantic, Iowa; and Dr. Shawn (Daurine) Petersen of Atlantic, Iowa; grandchildren, Clinton Petersen, Robby Petersen, Samantha Petersen, Hope Bowker and Nile Petersen; three siblings, JoAnne (Ken) Schuhmacher of Lemon Grove, California, Beverly Golen of Duluth, Minnesota and Gary (Erma) Petersen of Mason City, Iowa; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his wife of nearly 50 years, Judith; his parents; and six siblings, Jane in 1971, Helen in 1987, Howard in 1998, Donna in 2002, Elaine in 2003 and Russell in 2010.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, March 18, 2015, 10:30 a.m., at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Atlantic with Father Chori Seraiah, celebrant. Immediately following the service a lunch will be served at the Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Parish Center.

Burial will take place at a later date at Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City, Iowa.

Open visitation for signing of the guestbook will be available Monday & Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Roland Funeral Home in Atlantic.

Roland Funeral Home is caring for Soren's family and his arrangements. Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com

IN REMEMBRANCE OF

Soren Petersen
BORN
May 10, 1940
Mason City, Iowa

DIED
Thursday, March 12, 2015
At the age of
74 years, 10 months & 2 days
Atlantic, Iowa

MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Ten-thirty a.m.
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church
Atlantic, Iowa

CELEBRANT
Father Chori Seraiah

MUSICAL SELECTIONS
“Be Not Afraid”
“Amazing Grace”
“One Bread, One Body”
“On Eagles Wings”

ORGANIST
Elsa Casey

CANTOR
Diedre Casey

INTERPRETER
Melinda Jennings

HONORARY PALLBEARERS
~Grandchildren~
Clinton Petersen
Robby Petersen
Samantha Petersen
Hope Bowker
Nile Petersen

FLOWER COMMITTEE
Cathy Larsen
Hope Bowker

INTERMENT AT A LATER DATE
Memorial Park Cemetery
Mason City, Iowa


Soren’s family invites you to join them for a luncheon
immediately following the service in the Catholic Parish Center.