Funeral services for Dale H. Peters of Albert Lea will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Theodore Catholic Church. The Rev. Timothy T. Reker  will officiate. Interment will be in St. Theodore Cemetery at a later date. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Bonnerup Funeral Service and one hour before the service at the church. There will be a brief prayer service and sharing time at 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Dale died Wednesday, June 11, 2014, at Oak Park Place in Albert Lea. He was 76.

Dale H. Peters was born on Sept. 6, 1937, in Albert Lea, son of Arnold and Irene (Dobberstein) Peters.

Dale graduated from Freeborn High School with the class of 1955. After graduating, he worked at Hartland Creamery picking up milk from local dairy farmers, and later briefly worked at Wilson & Co.

Dale farmed in the Hartland and Manchester area until retiring in 2004. He loved the land and always said you should “leave it better than you found it.” When he wasn’t working on his own land, he was helping other farmers or driving around checking out the crops.

He was a member of St. Theodore Catholic Church.

In his earlier years, he enjoyed bowling, and throughout the years he loved having coffee and “shooting the breeze” with other area farmers, as well as playing a good game of cards.

His loving family includes wife, Pat (Vorpahl), of Albert Lea, married June 29, 1963, at St. Theodore Church; son, David Peters, and his wife, Tonya, of Savage; daughter, Carolyn “Cari,” and her husband, Matt Hatcher, of St. Louis Park; grandchildren Tyler (Sabrina) Ladlie of Freeborn, Jessica Peters of Lakeville, Jacob Peters of Savage and Zack and Calvin Hatcher of St. Louis Park; brother, Marlin (Henrietta) Peters, of Waseca; sister-in-law, Laura (Leon) Steffen, of Albert Lea; brother-in-law, Thomas (Carole) Vorpahl, of Monument, Colo., and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his father-in-law and mother-in-law Arnold and Florence Vorpahl; nephew, John Steffen, and sister-in-law, Shirley Vorpahl.

Dale was an honest, hard working, generous and kind man. He will be greatly missed by family and friends.