LAKE LILLIAN -- Donald Fordis Peterson, 96, of Lake Lillian died Wednesday at Bethesda Heritage Center in Willmar.
The service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church in Grove City. Burial will be at the Lake Lillian Baptist Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Atwater Funeral Home in Atwater and one hour prior to the service Wednesday at the church.
He was born April 26, 1912, on the family farm to Nels and Rose (Mostu) Peterson. He grew up in the rural Lake Lillian community and graduated in 1930 from Atwater High School. During the Depression, he worked in the western United States and later returned to the farm.
He married Doris Marie Watson on Sept. 4, 1941. They farmed on the family farm. They moved to Atwater in 1985, and he continued to help on the farm past age 90.
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He served several terms on the school boards for rural District 811 and Atwater Public Schools.
He is survived by his children: Carol (and LeRoy) Erickson of Blaine, Becky (and John) Upton of Glendale, Ariz., Arlys (and Jeff) Hess of Nevis, Donn (and Jan) Peterson of Lake Lillian and Lance (and Linda) Peterson of Cottonwood, Ariz.; 17 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and two sisters: Evangeline Johnson and Beth (and Ray) Anderson.
He was preceded in death by his wife; an infant son, Neal; a brother; and a great-grandson.
