PETERSEN, Peter O. "Pete"

PETERSEN, PAULSEN, BARLOW, KUNDERT

Posted By: Pat Ludeke (email)
Date: 6/11/2013 at 00:26:51

Peter O. "Pete" Petersen, 92, of 2500 North Shore Drive, Clear Lake, died
Monday, July 22, 2002 at the North Iowa Mercy Medical Center East Campus, Mason
City, Iowa. Family and friends will gather for a memorial service at 11 a.m. on
Friday, Aug. 9, at the First Congregational Church, Clear Lake with Pastor
Thomas Healey officiating.

Pete was born Jan. 22, 1910 in Clear Lake, the son of George Peter and Mary Karn
(Paulsen) Petersen. As he grew up, Pete developed his deep love for Clear Lake
while he worked in his father's bath house and as a pilot of commercial
speedboats that took passengers to and from Bayside. He graduated from Clear
Lake High School in 1928. Pete married his classmate, Julia (Josephine Barlow)
Kundert on Aug. 10, 1935 in the first of three homes he built for them in Clear
Lake.

He followed in his father's footsteps as he owned and operated the Petersen
Construction Co. Interestingly, in the early 1900's his father had built the
White Pier and the Idelo, both on North Lakeview Drive in Clear Lake. His
father placed Pete's birth date on the foundation of the White Pier. On Aug.
27, 1931 Pete was in the basement of the White Pier as it was destroyed by a
tornado. In the winter of 1948/49 he built a home for T.L. "Otie" Sears inside
the Idelo building. In the spring of 1949 the Idelo was torn down, revealing
the new home to the residents of Clear Lake.

As a member of the Associated General Contractors of America, Pete received
several awards for construction safety, including one for ten consecutive years
of "building without an accident which caused an employee to miss work". During
his 30 year construction career, he built more than 125 homes in Clear Lake and
many businesses and schools including the Clear Lake High School, the First
Congregational Church, the Zion Lutheran Church, the Ventura Grade School, and
the Clear Lake Bank & Trust. The last building Pete built before his retirement
in 1973 was the Clear Lake Telephone Company office. In a 1999 newspaper
article, he said he had many fond memories of the years he helped shape the
landscape of Clear Lake and other North Iowa communities.

In retirement, Pete enjoyed his family, playing golf and the beauty of Clear
Lake. He was a member of the First Congregational Church and on many church
boards. During his tenure as president of the Clear Lake Lions Club he led the
project to build the bleachers at the Clear Lake High School football field.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Julia (Jose) Petersen, Clear Lake; one son,
Tom, and his wife, Margaret (Meg) Jungers Petersen, St. Petersburg, Fla. and
South Burlington, Vt.; and two grandchildren, Hannah Jungers Petersen and Thomas
E. (TJ) Petersen, Jr., also of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Pete was preceded in death by his parents and six siblings: Fred, Vern, Roy and
Art Petersen, Marie Petersen Conklin and Ruth Petersen Day.