Jerold Robert "Jerry" Peterson, 71 of Sioux City, Iowa passed away on Friday, March 27, 2026 at a local hospital. A Celebration of Life Service will be at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, April 2, 2026 at the Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel with fellowship and refreshments to follow. Visitation, with the family present, will begin at 10:00 a.m. Thursday morning at the funeral home. 

Jerry R. Peterson (Jerry)

Nickname: Jerhi (named by older brother Johnny Peterson)

Gender: Male Birthdate: 04/02/1954

Place of Birth: Storm Lake, Iowa Date of Death 03/27/2026

Place of Death: Unity Point Hospital, Sioux City, Iowa

Jerry passed away peacefully on March 27, 2026, at 8:45 a.m.

Lin entered his hospital room 15 minutes after he went to Glory. His face was peaceful and serene. 15 minutes before my arrival there was a white hearse that passed me by going in the opposite direction…and I knew he was with Jesus.

Jerry is survived by his wife Dr. Lin Chicoine Peterson; a son Zac (Braelie) Peterson; a daughter Kara (Brad) Peterson Purgett; 7 grandchildren, Avin Makayla, Liam, Lily, Cadence, Aria, and Amara; 2 brothers Johnny (Nancy) Peterson of Kansas City, Missouri and Jimmy (Michelle) Peterson; 3 bonus children, Christy Fairchild, Kim Sulsberger, and Kayla Collison.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents John and B. Jean Peterson and grandparents John and Reverend Ada Peterson and Frank and Susan “Susie” Goff.

Jerry loved his kids and bonus kids. Jerry loved to play with his children and bonus children. They played baseball, soccer, football, etc. then got treats when they were young growing up. Jer would attend all of Zac’s taekwondo and his soccer games. He would work with Kara on her softball and attend her games. He so loved this.

He talked about camping with his Mom and Dad and his brothers at Red Feather. He played music with Jimmy as he is a seasoned guitarist. Jerry would say he was the best around and could feather a guitar. Jerry would visit Johnny in Iowa City and always spoke about how Johnny really got Jerry and his music buying him C.D.’s.

Jerry attended East High School. There was an incident where he won a race in gym class while running in “Beatle’s Boots”. The coach tried to recruit him to run track but he already fell in love with music. Besides the coach told him he would have to cut his hair! He relates how the “jocks” would bully him and his musician friends with their long hair, which never intimidated him as he was a great boxer. A year later the jocks had long hair!

Jerry was a self-taught musician as they didn’t have YouTube, or teaching videos. He would use records and listen and listen and play and listen and listen until he got it. Santana came out and Jerry was fascinated with hand percussion. Soon he purchased a set of Congas. He became very proficient on the Congas and went on to timbales, cow bells, Djembe, etc.

Jerry was a very shy, introverted young man but he could get up in front of 1000s of fans and play his drums. His first “Gig” was for a Battle of the Bands at age 15 (River Cade maybe). He played at Blues Festivals, Saturday in the Park, with a great guitar player from Canada, with a guitar player from “Little Feet” a Lowell George Band; he played in the Tommy Bolin Memorial with Johnny Bolin, Black Oak Arkansas and Jim Dandy. Jim Dandy told Jerry that he wanted him and his Congas up front stage. But the genre that he most enjoyed was playing with the Iowa State Choir in Des Moines. James Moore, a 3 time Grammy winner saw Jerry play and after the event he brought his keyboard next to Jerry’s Congas and they began to play.. James was impressed with Jerry and referred to him as the “best percussionist he has ever seen”. James asked Jer to move to Mississippi, where he directed the Mississippi Mass Choir. However, Jer had 2 small children & 2 step-children & wasn’t able to go. He often thought about it. Jer loved playing in churches and Worshipping the Lord. He would begin to play and the anointing would his where the whole congregation would experience Jer’s love for Jesus. He loved to play in people of color churches where he really loved the ability to let loose and express his musical talent. He was at Cornerstone Church several years. I can still hear Pastor Carry yell out “timbales, Timbales” and Jer would begin to play. Jerry had a dream to have a great Christian Band out of the Midwest. He would travel to churches to find musicians with like aspirations. He used his 401K money to buy equipment to be used by the band.

Jer is a musician but he loved sports, which is unusual.

He loved tennis and loved to watch it by the hour. He preferred professional football. He had his favorite in basketball too. Luca Doncic, Cooper Flagg, Nikola Jokie. He loved both men and women’s sand and regular volleyball. He enjoyed women’s college softball. College world series and Little League. Baseball was his favorite as he played as a young boy. He never played golf but had his favorite golfer.

When he was 17, he would go up into the hills near the ravine near his home. He felt a presence with him and yelled out “God who are you?” A week later one of his musician friends asked him if he was saved? So his friend invited him to his home. The only chair there was next to another invited guest, the pastor. The pastor explained the birth, death & resurrection of Jesus and the experience with the Holy Spirit & Prayer Language. Jer could feel the same presence as in the hills, so he knew it was real. He asked Jesus to be his Lord& Savior and he got spirit-filled with the Holy Spirit. Soon after he influenced his younger brother & several of his musician friends. They were going to church barefoot, long hair, and with muscle shirts. There was an article in the Sioux City Journal with pictures of Jer & his friends. It was astonishing so much so that the Journal published the pictures and the article.

In 2000, Jer found Jimmy Swaggart & Sonlife Ministries. He learned about the message of the cross that Jesus did it all on the cross & that Jesus wants to be a part of everything we do. He learned about “justification” when saved – no matter how bad we are when we ask Jesus into our hearts & are sorry for our sins, we are saved and everything we did is under the finished work of Christ on the cross. However, we do have the sin nature to contend with. We sin & ask for forgiveness then as the Holt Spirit to help us overcome the sin nature. This is sanctification. The Holy Spirit works thru the parameters of the finished work of Christ. We overcome addiction thru putting it on the cross with Christ, forget about it & pray then God does for us what we can’t do for ourselves. God has the best way – we just have to ask. We overcome and go on to success in life thru Jesus Christ who strengthens us.

Jer had a great depth and often had his music friend asking him to talk about something else. Lol.

Jer had a tremendous sense of humor and kept people in stitches, especially his wife. He would listen to his music for hours. He could tell you something about every instrument and the artist playing it. He loved any kind of music as long as the musician was good at what they did.

I believe Jer had a song in his hear he is now playing with Jesus in Heaven.

Jerry “Jerhi” was a strong, stubborn, beautiful man of God with a rough edge to him. He love coconuts. He was a coconut. On our honeymoon in St. Martin, he saw his first coconut tree. He stood staring at it and finally he looks up and said, “Honey, stay out from under the tree, a coconut could fall on your head and kill you!”

He is now walking the streets of gold! Playing his percussion with the heavenly band.