Dorothy Mae Peterson

PARDEEVILLE –We have lost a beloved women. A wife, a mother, a sister, a grandmother, a great-grandmother and an aunt. Dorothy Mae Peterson, age 82, of Pardeeville, was called home on Saturday, May 05, 2012 following a long illness.

She was the oldest child born to the late Joseph and Laura (nee Herman) Bradley on July 17, 1929 on a farm in rural Randolph.  She was a 1947 graduate of Randolph High School.  Dorothy attended the Chicago School of Floral Design in1961.  She worked at the Pardeeville National Exchange Bank in Pardeeville for 25 years from which she always cherished the memories and friendships she formed during her many years of employment.  She was an owner/operator of a greenhouse business for several years outside of Pardeeville on Hwy. 44. Dorothy was a member of the United Methodist Church.

Dorothy and her wonderful husband, Philip, purchased the Peterson family farm on Hwy. P in 1971.  While residing there she was an avid gardener and spent many years canning their harvest items.  They made their home there until 2001. After selling their farm they moved into Pardeeville.  Throughout her lifetime she enjoyed square dancing, snowmobiling, curling, fishing, card and board games, cooking and boating. She never missed an opportunity to find beauty in the simplest of things.  She was a good listener and quick to laugh and have fun.  She loved to watch sports on television and was a huge fan of the Green Bay Packer Donald Driver.  Nothing made her happier than spending time with her family.

Survived by her devoted husband of 42 years, Philip, whom she married on December 14, 1970; three children, John Evans (Cindy Birkholz), Portage; Robert (Kaye) Evans, Middleton; Terry (Deb) Gorsuch, Pardeeville; grandchildren, Bobbi (Jon) Hutchinson, Nathan (Jenny) Scheel, and Austin Gorsuch; great-grandchildren, Reagan, Luke, Annabelle, Cora and Landon; brother, Ronald Bradley; nieces, Valori (Robert) Mendrala, Darla Bradley; nephew, Bryan Bradley; in-laws, John and Gladys Peterson; special friend, Linda Bradley and other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents and grandparents and many dear relatives; and father-in-law and mother-in-law, Orrie and Mildred Peterson, brother-in-law, Richard Peterson, and sister-in-law Mary Lou Marx.

A celebration of Dorothy’s life will be held at the Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow in the Marcellon Cemetery.  Visitation hours will be held from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home, 430 W. Wisconsin St., Portage, prior to the service.

The family would like to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to the many health professionals who lovingly cared for Mother over the years. She was the family’s rock and we have been blessed to have been the recipients of her love, warmth, kindness and generosity. Dorothy will be remembered by her family and friends as the truly wonderful person she was.

Donations in her name may be made to ARC of Columbia County, 722 E. Cook St., Portage, WI 53901 or Northwoods Inc. of Wisconsin, N6510 Hwy 16 & 51 Portage, WI 53902.

“I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.  I’d like to leave an after glow of smiles when life is done.  I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways, of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days.  I’d like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun of happy memories that I leave when life is done.”