Richard "Dick" E. Petersen

Richard "Dick" E. Petersen, 85, of South Sioux City, NE passed away on Friday, October 23, 2015 with his family at his side following a sudden illness.Funeral services will be held at 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at the Mohr Funeral Home in South Sioux City, NE. Visitation with the family present will begin at 4:00 P.M. at the funeral home on Tuesday.Dick was born in Danbury, Iowa on August 26, 1930, the son of Henry and Dorothea (Digle) Petersen. He was a Champion speller in a 1944 spelling bee. He also attended Boys State and was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1947. He played on the Danbury Little Maroons High School basketball championship team in 1947 and graduated from Danbury High School in 1948. Dick married Gladys "Duby" Yepma on August 12, 1950. To this union six children were born. He attended NBT business vocation school. He worked in maintenance for Johnson Biscuit Company (Interbake Foods), retiring after thirty years.Dick was a ST. Paul United Methodist Church member, South Sioux City Council member and a member of the Eagle's Club, Baker's Union and the American Red Cross for ten years. He played fast pitch softball, baseball and basketball and was a Little League Baseball coach, coaching his sons. He enjoyed his golf outings with good friends, monthly luncheons with his sisters, horseshoes and Nebraska games.Survivors include his children, Vickie McArthur, Rita (Rex) Bossow, Randy, Rob, Danny (Jan) and Duby (Ronnie) Book; fifteen grandchildren; twenty-nine great-grandchildren; his sisters, Wilma Hartleben, Gwen Pfleeger and Raona (Don) West; and several nieces and nephews.Dick was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Dorothea Petersen; his wife, Gladys "Duby" Petersen on December 7, 2013; a twin sister, Ruth Irene Petersen; sister and brother-in-law, Marion (James) Southworth; two brothers, Henry, Jr. and Oliver; brothers-in-law, William "Bill" Hartleben and Lyle Pfleeger; and son-in-law, Donald McArthur.Dick will always be remember by his family as a mechanic, athlete and plumber. "Dick can handle any role, but he learned a lot he knows at the old swimming hole." (A quote from his sister, Wilma.)