Leonard Arthur Petersen

Leonard A. Petersen age 90 of Apple Valley, MN, formerly of Walnut Grove and Tracy, MN, died Sunday, June 22, 2008 at the Augustana Healthcare Center in Apple Valley. Services will be 2:00 PM Friday, June 27, 2008 at the Tracy Lutheran Church. Visitation will be from noon until 2:00 PM at the church. Interment will be at the Tracy City Cemetery. Leonard Arthur Petersen was born October 17, 1917 to Andrew P. and Susanna (Gebers) Petersen on a farm in Adair County west of Des Moines, IA. At the age of 11, Leonard’s family moved to a farm on the banks of Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, MN. In 1933 the family moved to a farm south of Tracy, MN. He was baptized and confirmed in the Christian faith and attended country school. In 1937 Leonard married Ethel L. Rykhus and they made their home near Tracy. For a short time he worked as a hired man on the farm of Fred Cooper and then moved to Park Rapids, MN where he worked for a Standard Oil Station. They moved to Brookings, SD for a short time and in 1947 returned to Tracy where Leonard went to work for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad in the roundhouse and later on the bridge crew for over 10 years. In 1962 he moved to Mankato, MN where he went to work for the State of Minnesota at Mankato State College as the Stationary Engineer in the boiler room. Leonard retired in 1981. In 1984 he moved with his wife, Ethel, to Apple Valley, MN where she died in 1989. In 1992 Leonard married Marian Widboom and they made their home in the Senior Apartments in Apple Valley. He was a member of the Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley and the Apple Valley Senior Citizens for approximately 18 years. He served as president of the American Federation of State and County Employees (AFSMCE) for 2 years while in Mankato. Leonard enjoyed coin collecting, woodworking, fishing, building small inventions and metal detecting but he truly loved spending time with his family and many friends. On Sunday, June 22, 2008 Leonard died, surrounded by his loving family, at the Apple Valley Healthcare Center at the age of 90. Leonard is survived by his wife, Marian Widboom of Apple Valley, MN; one daughter, Joyce (Lauren) Coyle of Hackensack, MN; four grandchildren, Jody (Ron) Bruen of Circle Pines, MN, Patty (David) Bishop of Woodbury, MN, Brian and Brandi Meoni of Apple Valley, MN; six great grandchildren; two great-great granddaughters; two step-sons, Lyle (Becky) Widboom of St. Clous, MN and Don (Mary) Widboom of Lakeville, MN; six step-grandchildren; thirteen step great-grandchildren; three sisters, Jane (Dick) Wyffels of Redwood Falls, MN, Betty Rutherford of Calumet, MN and Mae Dull of San Bernardino, CA; nieces, nephews and many friends. His first wife, Ethel, daughter, Connie Meoni, two grandchildren, parents, four brothers and two sisters preceded him in death. *The family requests that in lieu of flowers memorials be given to either the Tracy Lutheran Church or the American Cancer Society.