Obituary of Dorothy Mae Pederson

A funeral service for Dorothy Pederson, age 90, of Spirit Lake, will be held Thursday, November 13, 2014 at 10:30am at United Methodist Church in Spirit Lake. Visitation will be on Wednesday, November 12th from 5:00-7:00pm at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Dorothy passed away Sunday, November 9th at Hilltop Care Center in Spirit Lake. Dorothy Mae Nelson Pederson, the daughter of Fred C. and Louise (Lucy) Rausch Nelson was born on November 15, 1923 on a farm 6 miles south of Moneta, IA. Dorothy was a member of the First Christian Church and was baptized at the age of 13. She graduated from Spencer High School in 1941 and moved to California and worked at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, CA from 1942-1945. She then returned to Spencer and was employed by Capital Tobacco Co. from 1945-1950. Dorothy was married Jan 2, 1951 to Ralph (Pete) Pederson at her parent's home in Spencer, IA. She had met and fell in love with Pete while she was in California. After their marriage, they returned to California and worked for Douglas Aircraft from 1951-1954. They began farming in Minnesota in 1954. During the harvest season of 1957, Dorothy sustained a leg injury that would alter her life forever. Their only child, Lori, was born in 1963. They moved to Pete's home place near Superior in 1971 and continued to farm there until retirement in 1981. Dorothy and Pete loved to dance. Often you could find them at the Roof Garden, The Woodcliff Ballroom and others. She also loved gardening and always had a big flower and vegetable garden. She also loved making crafts. Dorothy and Pete spent many winters in Mission, TX where they enjoyed the warm winters. In the afternoons, you could always find them enjoying a cup of coffee while playing their daily cribbage games. Dorothy is survived by her daughter, Lori and son-in-law, Craig Goth and three grandchildren, Spencer, Hayden & Lauren all of Spirit Lake, sister, Jean Ahrenstorff of Hartley and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Pete in 1993, her parents, two brothers, Byron and Gerald, three sisters-in-law, Marie and Mildred Nelson and Ragnhild Coleman and brother-in-law Clifford Coleman.