Petersen, James E., Jr. (1923-2010)
PETERSEN, SHAW, GAES, JONES, BETZ, BROTHERSON, RUDE, BUCHHOLZ
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 11/15/2010 at 11:51:05
James E. Petersen, Jr.
September 18, 1923 - November 06, 2010Newell, Iowa
James E. Petersen, Jr., age 87, of Newell, Iowa, died Saturday, November 6, 2010, at the Newell Good Samaritan Center in Newell.
James Elmer (Jim) Petersen, Jr., was born September 18, 1923, in Newell, Iowa, to James Elmer Petersen, Sr., and Lillian A. (Shaw) Petersen. He was baptized in Nevada, Iowa.
Jim attended Newell Consolidated School and graduated in 1941. Following graduation, he worked for Montgomery Ward in Chicago, Illinois.
He entered the Air Force in January, 1943, and trained at Miami Beach, Florida, at the Headquarters of the Second Air Force in Colorado, at Boise Air Force Base, at Pocatello Air Force Base, and at March Air Force Base at Riverside, California. He left for overseas in December of 1943. Serving with the Eighth Air Force, he earned six Bronze Stars. He returned to the United States in May 1945. After a furlough, he served with the Fifth Ferrying Command at Dallas, Texas, until his discharge in October 1945. Jim was a member of both the 453rd Bomb Group Association of the Eighth Air Force and the Second Air Division of the Eighth Air Force.
On November 7, 1948, in Albert City, Iowa, Jim married Betty Jean Gaes from Storm Lake, Iowa. They built a new home in Newell in 1949. The couple was blessed with two children: Kevin James Petersen and Kem Michael Petersen.
Jim worked as a fourth generation building contractor. Although he constructed all types of buildings, he liked building houses the most.
His hobbies included flying, fishing, gardening, and spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Left to cherish his memory are his son, Kem, and his wife, Barb Petersen, of Newell; his daughter-in-law, Claire (Kevin) Petersen, of Newell; his four grandchildren: Abby Jones, and her husband, Jeff, and son, Brody, of Sioux Rapids, Molly Petersen, and her fiancé, Brandon Betz, and son, Harrison, of West Des Moines; Kodi Brotherson, and her husband, Matt, of Breda; and Travis Petersen, and his wife, Jordan, of Carroll; his sister-in-law, Mary Lue Rude, and her husband, Dale, of Sioux City; his brother-in-law, James Gaes, of Storm Lake; his sisters-in-law, Lea Gaes, of Storm Lake and MaryLinn Petersen, of Newell as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and other extended family and friends.
James was preceded in death by his parents; his son, Kevin, two brothers: Gerald Petersen and William Petersen and his wife, Carol; two brothers-in-law: Raymond Gaes and Fred Gaes, Jr.; three sisters-in-law: Jeanette Gaes, Leone Buchholz, and her husband, Walter, and Shirley Gaes.
Visitation: 1:00 p.m. November 09, 2010, at the Nain Lutheran Church in Newell, Iowa
Funeral Service: 2:00 p.m. November 09, 2010, at the Nain Lutheran Church in Newell, Iowa
Interment: November 09, 2010, at the Newell Cemetery in Newell, IowaCopyright © 2010, Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home
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