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Velma L. Peterson, 102, of Storm Lake died on Nov. 15, 2022, at Methodist Manor in Storm Lake.
Funeral services will take place Friday, Nov. 18, at 11 a.m. at United Methodist Church in Alta. Burial will be in Elk Township Cemetery in Alta. Visitation will be held Thursday, Nov. 17, from 5-7 p.m. at Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Alta.
Velma Lucile (Mooney) Peterson was born July 24, 1920, to Harry and Daisy (Boots) Mooney at their rural Nemaha home. She was one of the first babies to be baptized in early 1921 at the newly constructed Nemaha Methodist Church in Nemaha. Velma grew up on a farm in rural Nemaha until the family moved to Nemaha. Velma went to school at Nemaha, graduating in 1937. After graduation, she worked as the telephone operator in Nemaha.
Velma was Miss Nemaha in 1939 and competed for Miss Iowa at the Clay County Fair. She always said she was the only contestant from Nemaha. She was also honored to be the Community Education Volunteer of the Year.
On Dec. 18, 1941, Wesley Peterson and Velma Mooney were married in her parents’ home. To this union two children were born, Janis and Lynn. Velma was able to follow Wes to Army bases in Georgia and Texas before he was deployed overseas for WWII. She then moved back home with her parents. When Wes returned, they moved to the Fairview community and continued to operate a service station on Hwy. 3 in rural Alta, Wes’s DX, for almost 50 years. They were involved with the Fairview community and enjoyed their neighbors and considered them friends. After their children were older, Velma worked at JC Penney for over 27 years.
Velma belonged to the Methodist Church in Nemaha until she married Wes. After that she joined the Elk Baptist Church, rural Alta, until the church closed. At that time, they joined United Methodist Church in Alta. She taught Sunday School at Elk Baptist and held several offices at both Elk Baptist and United Methodist Church in Alta. Her faith was very important to her, and when she no longer was able to attend church, she would watch sermons on TV, as well as listening to KAYL.
Velma loved her family and attended many sporting events, dance recitals and concerts for both her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was most happy when with family. Velma belonged to the Busy Bee Club. She also belonged to two card clubs. She was a volunteer at the gift shop at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center for many years. Velma also was a girls’ 4-H leader for many years. She loved going to Dinner Date three times a week for many years. She counted them as part of her extended family. Velma was honored with the Dinner Date Senior Citizens Volunteer of the Year award in 2010.
Velma loved watching sports on TV. She loved watching the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones. She would often say that she had both sweatshirts hanging side by side in her closet and they got along just fine. She also loved to watch the Twins and Cubs.
Those left to cherish her memory are her children: Jan and Donny Nolte of Lakeside; Lynn and Deborah Peterson of Sac City; grandchildren: Angela (Adam) Kutz of Lakeside; Scott (Tina) Nolte of Spencer; Amy (Brian Feld) of Clear Lake; Jereme Altendorf (special friend Lynn Kennady) of Anchorage, Alaska; Sara Regenscheid of Sac City; great-grandchildren: Ashley Neumann, Andrew Kutz, Jasmin Beal, Emma White, Harper Nolte, Kinnick Nolte, Zach Feld, Kaleb Feld, Zemira Timberlake, Lauren Regenscheid, Jacque Lohff and Wade Lohff; plus many other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Wesley on March 19, 1991; her parents Harry and Daisy Mooney; brother Marvin (Ruth) Mooney; Wes’s parents, Marinus and Annie Peterson; siblings-in-law: Bernice (Charles) Harding, Hubert Frederickson, Helen and Allie Johnson and Virginia (Thomas) Aldrich; brother Virgil (Pauline) Peterson; and Wes’s baby sister, Celeste, who died in infancy.
