Reverend Reynold Petersen, age 89 of Wall Lake, IA, went to be with his Heavenly Father on Tuesday, October 29, 2019. He was a resident at Twilight Acres in Wall Lake.
Reynold Bernard Petersen was born on June 27, 1930, to parents Jurgen and Katherine (Kuhl) Petersen in Wall Lake. He and his five siblings grew up on farms in Crawford and Sac Counties. He was baptized on August 3, 1930, at Zion Lutheran Church in Denison, IA, and was confirmed in 1945 at Peace Lutheran Church in Wall Lake. Ray went to grade school in both Denison and Wall Lake. He graduated from Wall Lake High School with the Class of 1948. After graduation, Ray served as a submarine specialist in the United States Navy during the Korean War. He served from June of 1948 to May of 1952. During this time he was aboard the USS Conger SS-477 and the USS Requin SSR-481. He received his Dolphin Pin and was honorably discharged.
On May 8, 1954, Ray married Joan Wilken at Peace Lutheran Church in Wall Lake. This union was blessed with three daughters: Linda, Deb, and Pam. Ray and Joan raised their family in Iowa and North Dakota.
In 1967, Ray graduated from Buena Vista College with his Bachelor’s Degree and taught high school for two years in Newell, IA. He moved to Springfield, Il, where he attended Concordia Theological Seminary, graduating with his Master of Divinity degree in 1973. The first call he accepted was to St. John’s and Bethlehem Lutheran Churches in Upham, ND. In 1978, he accepted his second call to St. John’s Lutheran Church in Garner, IA. Ray was a man of faith and loved serving his Lord as a Pastor. Ray retired in 1992 and moved to Osakis, MN to live on a lake. In 2002, Ray and Joan moved back to Wall Lake. While in Wall Lake, he became a member of the American Legion.
Throughout his life, he was also a bricklayer, a bookkeeper, owned and flew a single engine airplane, and worked on a buffalo ranch. Ray enjoyed hunting, fishing, reading and gardening, but nothing brought him greater joy than spending time with the elderly and children, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Ray’s warm smile, sense of humor, and everlasting love for the Lord will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him. Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of 65 years, Joan Petersen of Wall Lake; children: Linda (Stan) Bromley of Minot, ND; Deb (Jeffery) Husebye of Garrison, ND; and Pam (Rick) Tovar of Delafield, WI; grandchildren: Jen (Kwang) Grondahl Lee, Eric Grondahl, Jared Grondahl, Jason Bromley, Amanda (Tyler) Bromley Ruelle, Philip Bromley, Katherine Tovar, Laura (Seth) Tovar Hart, Adam Tovar, Margaret Tovar, Rey Tovar; seven great-grandchildren; siblings: Minard (Susie) Petersen of Lake View, IA, Bertha Sundrup of Aurora, CO, Merlin (Doris) Petersen of Martinsville, IN; sister-in-law Joyce Wilken of Odebolt, IA; many nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.
Ray was preceded in death by his parents, Jurgen and Katherine Petersen; sister Irene Waters; and brother Vernon (Pat) Petersen.
