Lawrence Benjamin Peterson

Lawrence Benjamin Peterson was born April 2, 1933 to Mauritz Benjamin Peterson and Jessie Elliot (Lewis) Peterson. After a brief illness, Lawrence went home to be with the Lord on December 8, 2015. He was 82 years old. Lawrence leaves behind his loving wife of 61 years, Betty Marie (Bachmann) Peterson; his children: Lynn (Darrell) Hockenberry of Anita, Iowa; Lori (Curtis) Guenther of Alden, Minnesota; Lance (Tanya) Peterson of Fairmont, Minnesota; and Lon (Tracey) Peterson of Mankato, Minnesota. In addition to his four children, Lawrence has 8 grandchildren: Megan (Jeremy) Cook, Eric (Danielle) Hockenberry, Evan Guenther, Ana Guenther, Logan Peterson, Luke Peterson, Aron Peterson and Maren Peterson. Lawrence also leaves behind 2 great children: Hannah and Lucas Cook. Also surviving Lawrence are his sister, Lorraine (Peterson) Tate, and brother, Harold (Delores) Peterson. He was preceded in death by his parents, and infant sister, Jean Peterson. Lawrence was a life-long resident of Madelia. He graduated from Madelia High School in 1951. He served in the Army at Fort Lewis in Washington from 1953-1955. He married the love of his life, Betty in August of 1954 and they spent their first year of marriage at Fort Lewis. Upon returning from Fort Lewis, Lawrence and Betty settled in Madelia where they raised their four children. With the exception of his stint in the Army, Lawrence hauled livestock with his father from 1951 to 1976 as an owner operator of M.B.Peterson and Sons Trucking Company. Lawrence worked as a truck driver for Vandenberg Foods from 1976-1997. Lawrence then "retired " to work full-time for Gaylen Lenz and the Madelia Bus Service until 2000. After that Lawrence continued to serve as bus driver for the Madelia Bus Service, a job that he loved. Growing up Lawrence spent summers on his grandmother and step-grandfather's farm in New Sweden, Minnesota. He also helped his Dad at M.B.Peterson and Sons after school and on weekends while he was still in High School. Lawrence was a life-long member of the Madelia United Methodist Church. He served on many different church boards and was a Sunday school teacher. Lawrence was a 50 year member of the Masonic lodge in Lake Crystal. Lawrence was also active in the Madelia community serving on both the school board and the city council. Lawrence enjoyed fishing, playing cards and reading. One of Lawrence's beliefs was that "a stranger is just a friend you haven't met." He loved to laugh, tell stories and spend time with members of his extended family from church. Most of all he loved his beautiful wife Betty and his family. Nothing made Lawrence happier than spending time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Visitation 1 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Friday, December 11, 2015 Sturm Funeral Home, Pilgrim Chapel 303 E. Main St. Madelia, Minnesota, United States 56062 Visitation 2 9:30 am - 10:30 am Saturday, December 12, 2015 Methodist Church, United-Madelia 106 Center Ave. N. Madelia, Minnesota, United States 56062 Service Information 10:30 am Saturday, December 12, 2015 Methodist Church, United-Madelia 106 Center Ave. N. Madelia, Minnesota, United States 56062 Interment Information Riverside Cemetery, Madelia East, Co. Hwy 3, Flanders Ave. Madelia, Minnesota, United States 56062 Masonic Service Masonic service for Lawrence by Masonic lodge of Lake Crystal on Friday at 7:30 pm at the Sturm Funeral Home, Pilgrim Chapel. Interment Interment to take place at a later date. Military rites will be outside the church, immediately following funeral service. Reception A luncheon will take place in the church social hall immediately following military rites.