William “Bill” Petersen (1903-1979)

PETERSEN, WELLENDORF, BUTTRY, MILLER, BRITTON

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 1/3/2019 at 17:26:16

From Nevada Evening Journal August 13, 1979 (page 2)

Obituary

WILLIAM ("BILL") PETERSEN

Funeral services for William "Bill" Petersen, 76, were held at Grace United Methodist Church, Story City, Saturday, July 21 at 1:30 p.m. The Rev. Paul H. Beckman was the presiding pastor.

Mrs. Dorrell Doolittle accompanied Mrs. Vern Tanner and Mrs. Charles Jewell as they sang a duet. Casket bearers were Elmer Jensen, Everett Anderson, Robert Sweet, Audley Moulin, Robert Kalseim and Ralph Gruenwald. Burial was in the Story City Municipal Cemetery.

William Petersen was born July 2, 1903, on a farm near Exira, Iowa, and passed away at his home in Story City, Thursday, July 19.

In 1919 Bill moved with his parents from a farm to Audubon, Iowa, where he graduated from high school. After completing high school, Bill served the people of Audubon County as Clerk of Court. After attending Drake University, he chose banking as his life's work starting first in a bank in Earlham, Iowa, then in bank in Highland Park in Des Moines, and coming to Story City in 1932, as an employee of the newly established Story County State Bank. He continued to serve the people of Story City until his retirement in 1973.

Besides performing his duties in the bank in Story City, he was active in community affairs, having served as community school treasurer and city treasurer of the Greater Community Congress for many years. When he retired he was vice president and cashier of the Story County State Bank, and at the time of his death, he was a director of the bank.

Bill was a active and faithful member of Grace United Methodist Church, where he served as both steward and trustee, besides in many other capacities. He and his wife became members of Grace Evangelical Church in 1933 under the pastorate of Rev. C. Fuller. He also had the distinction of having been a "50 year" banker and a "50 year" Mason.

He is survived by his wife Dagmar; two daughters Macy K. Wellendorf, Fresno, Calif., and JoAnn Buttry, Kansas city, Kan.; one son-in-law, Richard Wellendorf, six grandchildren; two brothers: Andrew of Elkhorn, Iowa, and Leonard of Des Moines; two sisters Mrs. Anna Miller of Gardena, Calif., and Mrs. Leon Britton of Aurora, Colo.; and many nieces and nephews.

Preceding him in death were his parents, --- brothers and two sisters.