Barbara “Barb” Peterson, age 77, of rural Canby, MN, passed away on Friday, January 16, 2026 at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD with her family at her side. Funeral service will be held at 10:30am on Friday, January 23rd at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Canby, MN. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7pm on Thursday, January 22nd at the Houseman Funeral Home, Birk Chapel in Canby, MN with a prayer service at 7pm. Visitation will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at the St. Stephen’s Cemetery, rural Canby, MN. Houseman Funeral Home, Birk Chapel of Canby, MN has been entrusted with the arrangements.
Barbara Jean Peterson was born on July 23, 1948 in Tracy, MN to Harold and Valeria (Krause) Mueller. Her family moved to Canby in 1949. Barb graduated from Canby High School and furthered her education by graduating from Concordia College in Moorhead with a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education. She taught 6th grade in Jackson, MN for a couple years then returned to Canby. On June 6, 1976, Barb was united in marriage to Norris Peterson at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Canby, MN. To this union they were blessed with three children: Monica, Sheree, and Kevin. Together they raised their children on the Peterson family farm. Barb was a stay-at-home mother and a parent volunteer at the Canby Elementary School. After all the kids were in school, she started working at part-time at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church as a financial secretary as well at full-time at Canby Elementary School as a paraprofessional with numerous teachers and grade levels. Barb was a member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church and taught Sunday School for over 2 decades as well as a scripture reader. In 1979, Norris and Barb started a neighborhood card party that lasted until 1994. Barb bowled weekly on the Ladies league and with Norris on the Couples league. Since retiring, Barb enjoyed reading, quilting, doing word puzzles and Suduko, family gatherings and watching her grandchildren’s school activities, and the weekly coffee club get-together with various local retirees including her fellow Canby School colleagues. Traveling was something Norris and Barb enjoyed together throughout the years. Their two biggest trips were to Alaska in 2015 and to New England in 2016 as well as annual Krause cousins’ parties and cousins’ trips to Montana and the Black Hills. Grateful for having shared Barb’s life are her three children: Monica (Joe), Sheree, and Kevin (Lisa); her two grandchildren: Jack and Valerie Peterson; her Krause cousins, numerous friends, and Oshkosh township neighbors. She will be remembered by all for her cooking and baking, especially various holiday treats.
Barb is preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, Norris Peterson; her parents Harold and Valeria Mueller; sister Carol Mueller; and brother Rodney Mueller, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
