Doris Peterson

Doris M. Peterson, aged 91, wife of the late Rev. J. Clemmons Peterson, former pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 5701 Raymond Road in Madison, died on December 17, 2014 at the Highlands at Newcastle in Mequon, Wisconsin from the complications of progressive Alzheimer's Disease. She had resided for four years, since her husband's death in December of 2010, at the Covenant Oaks Memory Care Unit, a unit of Oakwood Village at 6165 Mineral Point Road, in Madison.

She is survived by her sister Donna Heden, of Greenfield, Wisconsin, three children, Dr. Ronald (Kathy) Peterson, of Edina, Minnesota, David Peterson of Pasadena, California, and Karen Peterson of Mequon, Wisconsin, as well as five grandchildren, Amy Peterson, Stephen Peterson, Laura Peterson, Kari Terrill, and Kirstie Terrill, and four nephews, John Heden, Doug Heden, Jeff Heden, and Steve Heden. She was pre-deceased by her older brother Erland Heden of Venice, Florida and her younger brother Stanley Heden, of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Doris was born on January 29, 1923 to John Folke Heden and Amy Emerentia (Nelson) Heden in a farmhouse just west of Ogema, Wisconsin, a small logging town in northern Wisconsin's Price County. She joined older brother Erland and her grandmother Mathilda Nelson, who also resided with her daughter's family. Doris and Erland were soon joined by Stanley and Donna. Doris graduated from Prentice High School, and then attended the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis and Whitewater State Teacher's College in Whitewater, Wisconsin. She returned to Prentice High School teaching commercial courses during World War II at the invitation of the principal when there was a nationwide teaching shortage.

She was married to Rev. J. Clemmons Peterson on June 24, 1946, had two sons, Ronald and David, and then moved to Gary, Indiana in November of 1949 where her husband had been called to start a new Lutheran Church just south of the mills of US Steel in an area of few Scandinavians but lots of sand dunes. The booming post-war economy was a time of growth for Gary as the mills expanded and drew workers from southern Europe and the impoverished states of the South. A congregation was organized, a building was constructed, but immigration and racial integration soon challenged the schools and the neighborhoods as congregation members sought housing in previously undeveloped areas south of Gary with less racial tension. Karen was born in 1955 completing the family, and Doris's husband was soon called to start another new congregation, this time on the far southwest side of Madison, Wisconsin in the new subdivision of Meadowood where the 1956 Parade of Homes had occurred. The Board of American Missions of the Augustana Lutheran Church purchased one of the featured houses which sported a fully finished basement allowing for a worship space in the parsonage. Parishioners leaving the service were treated weekly to the tantalizing smells of her family Sunday dinners as they ascended the stairs and passed the kitchen and exited the building.

Doris was a wonderful, loving mother who cared for her family deeply; she was a talented and particular cook, whose greatest joy was orchestrating holiday and extended family celebrations. She enjoyed crocheting and playing the piano. As a minister's wife she was often pressed into duty as an organist or impromptu accompanist. Following her husband's retirement in 1985, she was able to enjoy the company of many close friends as they attended theatre and sporting events and travelled abroad or around the country, visiting Croatia, the Holy Land, and the Near East.

A visitation for Doris will be held at the Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison from 6-8 PM on Friday January 2, 2015. Funeral services will be held on Saturday January 3, 2015 at 1 p. m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 5701 Raymond Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53711. A visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 12 noon. Memorials should be directed to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Foundation.

Cress Funeral Service
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
(608) 238-3434