Herman Christian Petersen, Jr. was born on Monday, August 8, 1927 to Herman Sr. and Mildred (Travis) Petersen on a farm near Lake Shoakatan, Minnesota. He was one of three children born to the Petersen family. He graduated from the West Central School of Agriculture in Morris, Minnesota.  On June 26, 1949 Herman was united in marriage to Mavis (Arndt) Petersen at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Hendricks, MN. To this union they were blessed with five children that they raised on the Petersen family farm. Herman loved the land and had a successful farming operation. He and Mavis were very committed to making the farm successful.

Pete enjoyed playing cards, bowling, collecting farm toys and traveling to auctions. He always wanted to ride on a Locomotive and loved to hear the whistle of the train. Pete raised chickens, cattle, hogs and turkeys. This was a major commitment to his time. He really enjoyed his tractors. In August 2019, he had an unfortunate accident and his favorite tractor knocked him down and ran over his arm. He got up and drove to town and it was quite a story which he enjoyed retelling many times. He ended up in the hospital for a time and then moved to Primrose Assisted Living in Sioux Falls, SD. Herman died on Thursday, June 11, 2020 at the age of 92 years, 10 months and 3 days as a result of Covid-19. He was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Hendricks, MN.

Grateful for having shared Herman’s life are his children: Julie (Andrew) Dalle of Sioux Center, IA, Mark (Lynn) Petersen of Carpinteria, CA, Jeff (Jennifer) Petersen of Brookings, SD and daughter-in-law Jean Petersen of Sioux Falls, SD; 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.  He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Mavis; two sons, Trey and Tim Petersen and two sisters, T.A. and Genene.