Ramona G. Peterson

Ramona (Mrs. Curtis) Peterson, age 80, Clark, formerly of the Naples/Vienna area, died in the Golden Living Center at Clark Tuesday morning, February 17, 2009. Funeral services will be Friday, February 20, 2009 at 11AM in the St. Paul Lutheran Church at Clark with the Reverend's Kathy Hibbert and Robin Schaunaman officiating. Music will be presented by Dorothy Fuller as organist. Special music will be presented by a quartet consisting of Kristen VanDerSnick, Audrey Rider, Lloyd Brekke and Myron Eidness. There will be congregational singing. Honorary casketbearers will be her nieces and nephews. The active casketbearers will be Laird Larson, Harry and Myron "Butch" Hanson, Gary Kolden, Gail Smith and Merritt Seefeldt, Jr. Burial will be in the Naples Lutheran Cemetery at Naples, SD. Visitation will be held on Thursday from 4-6 at the Furness Funeral Home at Clark and 2 hours prior to the funeral on Friday at the Church. She was born on May 29, 1928 at Henry, SD, the youngest child of Gilbert N. and Martha Gertrude (Leathers) Davis. She attended McQuaker-Elrod #17 country school and then graduated from Henry High School in 1946. In August of 1946 she enrolled at Northern State Teachers College at Aberdeen and obtained her teaching certificate in August of 1947. She then began teaching country school in the fall of 1947 in the Graceland School District #29, Codington County near Henry. She continued teaching school until her marriage on her 21st birthday, May 29, 1949, to Curtis Peterson at the Naples Lutheran Church. The couple then moved in to a home with his parents, on the Peterson homestead, west of Naples. In the mid 1950s his parents moved to Naples and Curtis and Ramona remained on that farm until moving into the Fay Wookey Memorial Assisted Living Center in Clark in June of 2006. She became a resident of the Golden Living Center at Clark in June of 2007. Curtis remains a resident of the Fay Wookey Center. She was a longtime, faithful member of the Naples Lutheran Church where she was active in the WELCA group, serving in various capacities. She taught Sunday School, Bible School, helped with many Church suppers and also sang in various music groups. In the late 1980s and early 1990s she and other family members were part of the Good News Clowns, a group that went around to various churches within a 100 mile radius, spreading the good news of the Bible. She was known as Skeeter, the Tramp Clown, in the group. They thoroughly enjoyed spreading The Good News. In the community Ramona served as a Hospice volunteer, was a member of the Sons of Norway,opened her home to an exchange son and other farm exchanges, Rebekah Lodge and was active in the former Lutheran Brotherhood group. Ramona will long be remembered for sending many kind notes, cheer notes, to hundreds in the area. On the farm she was a true Farm Wife, helping with lambing- even pulling lambs, calving, harvest driving the truck, and many other duties to truly support her husband and the farm. She enjoyed feeding the farm cats & taking in the dog when it was cold. Ramona was a wonderful homemaker, a fantastic cook and baker, even hosting a group of hunters from Tennessee for some 20 years; one could always count on a fresh cookie and a cup of coffee if you stopped by the house. While being in the kitchen she had to listen to the radio, especially Whats Up on KWAT. Grateful for having shared in her life is her husband of nearly 60 years, Curtis Peterson of Clark, a son, Duane (Char) Peterson of Vienna, 3 grandchildren, Shawna (Jory) Maynard, Kyle (Jody) Peterson and Doug Peterson and 7 great-grandchildren, Katlyn, Jordyn and Jarrett Maynard and Trinity, Grace, Emma and Andrew Peterson and an exchange son, Bob Inder of New Zealand. Preceding her in death were here parents, a son, Ronald in 1988, and siblings, Eva Aldous, Fred Davis, Harry Davis, Dorothy Brock, Jack Davis and Janet Hayes. Arrangements are with the Furness Funeral Home at Clark where you can sign an on-line guest book at www.furnessfuneralhome.com