Leora Petersen (1883-1927)

PETERSEN

Posted By: Debra Scott Hierlmeier (email)
Date: 11/14/2008 at 20:24:34

MRS. JACOB PETERSEN 1883-1927

Leora Ellen Rold was born December 2, 1883, and died at her home in Avoca, Iowa, Sunday, April 2, 1927 at four thirty pm aged forty-three years, four months and one day.

Funeral services were held at the First Congregational Church Wednesday afternoon, pril 6, at 2:30 pm with Rev J. M. Fleming officiating. A large number of neighbors and friends assembled to pay their last respects to one whose life among us has been such that the community is better that she lived.

Leora Ellen Rold was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Soren Rold and was born on the Rold farm four miles north of Avoca, in Shelby county. Here she grew to womanhood, attended school, and on December 4, 1901, she was united in marriage to Jacob Petersen. For a number of years they made their home on a farm, later moving to Avoca where Mr. Petersen engaged in the grocery business. The married life of Mr. and Mrs. Petersen has been one of unusually close devotion. During the entire twenty-seven years and more, they had never been separated from each other twenty-four hours at one time.

Mrs. Petersen spent a great part of each day at the store, in company with her husband, assisting him in many ways. Her friends were numbered by her acquaintances. She was ever read to lend a helping hand, always kind and sympathetic. About eight years ago Mrs. Petersen joined the first Congregational church, of which she has since been a faithful member and worker in all church activities.

For the past year or more Mrs. Petersen had not been in the best of health and about three weeks ago suffered an attack of influenza, which later developed into erysipelas (*), and her condition became alarming. During the fore part of last week she seemed to be improving until Saturday when the turn for the worse came and she failed rapidly until death relieved her Sunday afternoon.

One daughter, Mrs. John Pittmann, wither husband survive, together with her mother, Mrs. Mary Rold, who is nearly eighty, four brothers: Frank, William and Russell of Avoca and Charlie Rold of Long Beach, California; one sister, Mrs. Sarah Shaffer of Onawa, Iowa, and a large number of other relatives.

All that love and devotion of the husband, who forsook all other duties to minister to his wife, and the untiring attendance of the daughter, all that medical science could co, was done to no avail and death claimed her.
The body was laid to eternal rest in the Avoca cemetery. The entire community extends deepest sympathy to the bereaved family.

(*a severe skin rash accompanied by fever and vomiting and caused by a streptococcal bacterium)

From the Scrapbooks of Bessie Gross Gustafsen
Source: Avoca Journal Herald