Obituary of Lowell Delano Peterson

Lowell Delano Peterson, age 89 of Carver, MN, died on February 2, 2023 in the Minnesota Veterans Home on the shores of Lake Superior, in the lovely, small community of Silver Bay, Minnesota. Even though Lowell spent the last 13+ years of his life there, he never lost his positive attitude nor his zest for enjoying life. He took advantage of all they offered. Fishing on the Minnesota lakes, cruising on Lake Superior, attending high school baseball games, going out to lunch and enjoying the many activities the Veterans groups in the area would arrange - music, BBQs, poker games, Bingo and more. He was a very popular patient with not only the employees he interacted with daily, but their families and even their pets. Illustrated by the time Lowell woke up from an afternoon nap nose to nose with a pony!! Yes, before Covid, everyone visited - it was just a good idea to check his schedule first.

Lowell was born January 17, 1934 in Madison, Wisconsin. He graduated from Madison East High in 1952, where his Crosley convertible made him one popular student!! If you couldn’t drive it into a parking place at school, all riders had to get out and lift it into the spot. Those were “The Happy Days” of the 50’s!! Lowell attended the University of Wisconsin before enlisting in the Navy and served for four years. He was stationed in Key West, Florida on the USS Howard W Gilmore, a submarine tender. Lowell worked on ship electronics, including the first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus. After the service he began acquiring other life experiences with a number of different jobs. You could say he was ahead of his time with his many professions throughout his life!! He worked for the railroad - sometimes on the train that went right behind his home in Madison. He was also a lineman for AT&T, worked for a number of insurance companies, owned a bar and later started a limo service. His good humor and positive attitude landed him his prize job of Jesse Ventura’s driver on Ventura’s run for governor of Minnesota. An honor that he thoroughly enjoyed. There were many wonderful/funny/touching stories that he shared about this adventure with his friend Jesse!! Lowell made volunteering a large part of his life. Helping his community wherever he was needed. He was a Chaska Assistant Scoutmaster and Carver volunteer FireFighter. He was one of the founders of the Carver, MN Lions Club and later became the District Governor for the 5M2 Lions District. He joined the Chaska VFW and worked his way up to Commander. He was a life member in the VFW and the American Legion. In the small community of Stockholm, WI, he helped in many ways to preserve the history of his Swedish ancestors on both sides of his family. This was a place that he loved to visit and interact with the many relatives in the area.

Lowell is survived by his wife of 51 wonderful years, Cheryl (Koch) Peterson. He is also survived by his children, Kim Eitel (Gary), Hilary Hartung (Steve), Todd Peterson, Chad (Ana) Peterson, and nine grandchildren, along with his brother Gary Peterson (Susan Schmitz), his sister Mary Earll (Dave), and sister in law, Carol Peterson.

He was preceded in death by his parents Dwelton and Ethel Peterson, his brother Danny Peterson, his first wife Gloria Peterson and sister-in-law Jan Ryan. A Veterans Memorial service will be held at the Chaska, MN, VFW on April 1, from 1-4pm.