Axel Miller Peterson, 85, Albert Lea

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, June 24, 2003

The funeral service for Axel Miller Peterson will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Albert Lea. The Rev. Jay Dahlvang will officiate. Burial will be in Hillcrest Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour before the service at the church. Bonnerup Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.

Axel died on Monday, June 23, 2003, at Good Samaritan Center, Albert Lea. He was 85 years old.

Axel was born in Albert Lea on July 1, 1917, the son of Jens and Bena (Nielsen) Petersen. He was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church and attended Albert Lea schools.

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On Aug. 29, 1936, he was united in marriage with Joyce A. Arneson in the Little Brown Church, Nashua, Iowa.

Axel helped on the family farm as a young man and then at Wilson Co. for a short time. They owned and operated the Home Cafe in Alden for one year. Axel was a butcher/meat cutter at the General Grocery Store in Hayward. He worked as an independent house painter for over 40 years and also was a carpenter and had built six homes in Albert Lea. He built his first house at the age of 19.

In 1957 Axel and Joyce moved to Finland, Minn., where he worked as a meat cutter in the Coop Grocery Store. He also had a painting contract with the U.S. Air Force Radar Station in Finland. In 2001 they moved to Senior Towers in Albert Lea, and in 2002 Axel moved to Good Samaritan Center where he shared a room with Joyce.

Axel was a member of the Duluth Painters Union. He enjoyed fishing, bird hunting and taking trips.

Axel is survived by his wife, Joyce of Albert Lea; two children: Marlene (Roger) Nordahl of Albert Lea, and their two children, Shari (Scott) Pirsig of Albert Lea, and Scott (Patty) Nordahl of Hastings; and Dale (LaVonne) Peterson of Broomfield, Colo., and their three children, Dawn Peterson of Boulder, Colo., Bradley (Missy) Peterson of San Antonio, Texas, and Kara (Todd) Sargent of Thornton, Colo.; eight great-grandchildren: Casey, Ross and Callen Pirsig of Albert Lea, Travis and Candace Nordahl of Hastings, Sean Peterson of San Antonio, Texas, and Holly and Isaac Sargent of Thornton, Colo.; three brothers: Harry (Mary) Petersen, Robert (Marcia) Petersen, and John (Mary Ann) Petersen, all of Albert Lea; one sister, Dennise (Niels) Nielsen of Geneva; and nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents.