DEAN PETERSEN Obituary

DEAN E. PETERSEN, 93, of rural Cleghorn, Iowa, passed away on Friday, October 10, 2025 at Heartland Care Center in Marcus, Iowa.

Dean was born on September 6, 1932. Following in his father's footsteps, Dean began farming at a very young age, often running a team of horses pulling a wagonload of hay. He was very involved in 4-H showing Black Angus cattle. In 1949, he took Grand Champion at the Cherokee County Boys 4-H show, and he placed first in the Junior Angus Division at the International Livestock Show in Sioux City. By the spring of 1950, he had already started his own small Angus herd. Dean graduated from Cleghorn High School in 1950 where he excelled as an athlete in basketball and football, participated in school plays, and formed life-long friendships.

With the help from a mutual friend, Dean would soon find himself on a blind date with a young schoolteacher named Beverly Irwin. Dean and Bev were united in marriage on June 10, 1956. Dean knew he had found a life partner in Bev who truly made him a better man and added love, joy and beauty to his life. Dean was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Cleghorn, where he served for many years alongside a group of close friends and neighbors. Dean was a devoted husband and father of three children. He made it a point to attend nearly every one of their sports, school, and church events even amidst the busy demands of the farm.

As a farmer, Dean stood as an example of Paul Harvey's "On the 8th Day God made a farmer". He believed in straight rows, straight fences, returning borrowed things in better condition than you found them, and solving any problem he encountered through hard work. In retirement, if a farmer ever really does retire, he and Bev enjoyed purposeful winters spent in Texas where they participated in many activities and fostered a large community of friends. Dean was very proud of the work he and his Texas friends did in Mexico building homes for deserving families. He was an honest and practical man who enjoyed simple pleasures. He loved God, his family, livestock, and the land.

Dean was preceded in death by his father, William Petersen, his brothers and sisters-in-law Ken and Maxine and Cecil and Bonnie Irwin, and by his wife Beverly in 2018.

He is survived by his sister Alberta (Jim) Roulstone; children Laurel (Mike) Manoles of Golden Valley, Minnesota; Bryan (Laura) Petersen of Cleghorn, Iowa; and Brad (Mona) Petersen of Cohasset, Minnesota; ten grandchildren Erin (Mina) Estafanos, Nicholas (Amy) Manoles, Baley (Elliott) Mimms, Tucker (Danielle) Petersen, Elisa Lundquist (Neil Schulze), Jace Lundquist, Kelsey (Brent) Perreault, Kasey (Sean) DuBé, Karley (Taiga) Guterres, and Claire Petersen (Mark Schwandt); tengreat grandchildren Harper and Avery Schulze, Soren and Louis Perreault, Cora and Turner Mimms, Violet and Luke Manoles, Emma DuBé, and Charlotte Petersen; and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service, with lunch immediately following, will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Grace Methodist Church in Marcus, Iowa. Pastor Travis Stevick will officiate. Visitation with the family present, will be held on Friday, October 17, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa. A private family burial will be held in the Marcus Amherst Cemetery at Marcus, Iowa.