Ralph Dale Peterson, age 83, died on April 4, 2014 at his home near Cokato with his family at his side.
Ralph was born on November 19, 1930 to Oscar and Amanda (Henning) Peterson. He attended Mound Elementary and High School, graduating in 1948. He married Joanne Nelson in 1951 at Cokato Evangelical Lutheran Church. For the first two years of their marriage, Ralph worked at his father’s farm near Delano, Minnesota.
Ralph served in the United States Army, 1953-55, and was stationed at Fort Meyers in Arlington, Virginia where he was assigned highly classified duties in the Pentagon.
Following an honorable discharge from the Army, Ralph attended the University of Minnesota, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Ralph and Joanne lived in Minneapolis where he began a career in grocery store management, until 1964 when they moved to the Nelson family farm north of Cokato.
Along with his business career, Ralph was a lifelong farmer and a DeKalb dealer for several years. He served his community as a member of the Cokato township board from 1979-1994. He also served on the Cokato Business Association, the Solid Waste Management Board, and as chairman of the 1976 Cokato Corn Carnival. Ralph was a member of the church councils at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Minneapolis and Cokato Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Ralph is survived by his wife, daughters LaDonna (Scotty) Wylie, Cynthia (Daryl) Pischner, and sons Alan Peterson (special friend Joan Breczinski) and Larry (Kris) Peterson. He is also missed by five grandchildren, Kari (Jeremy) Wylie Johnston, Joshua (Jody) Wylie, Jonathan Pischner, Katie Peterson, and Dean Peterson and four great-grandchildren, Payton and Gracee Johnston and Tanner and Tyler Wylie.
He was preceded in death by his parents, parents-in-law Vernie and Irene Nelson, brothers, Lloyd, Earl, and Donald, infant sister Lorraine, sisters-in-law Mabel Peterson, Margaret Peterson, and Maejelle Nelson Nething, and brother-in-law Dean Nelson.
A Funeral Service will take place at 2:00pm on Thursday, April 10, 2014 at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cokato.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 from 4-7 pm at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home in Cokato and continue 1 hour prior to services at the church.
Internment with military honors will follow the service at the Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery in Cokato.