Jean Isabelle Pederson

Jean Isabelle Pederson (born Goehring) died at age 89 on Saturday evening, October 21, 2023. Jean was born on October 11, 1934, in Sanborn, MN, at the edge of the Great Plains. Her family, the Goehrings, consisted of Jean; her German-heritage parents, Arnold and Erna; and her two sisters, Gert and Eleanor. Jean grew up on the family farm due west of midtown Sanborn, population 700. Because none of the children was male, she became the designated "boy," helping her father with the outside farmwork, driving a tractor and fetching the cattle from the riverside. She graduated from Sanborn High School in 1952. About that time she met her future husband, Roland-another Sanborn resident. Jean attended classes at Mankato Commercial College, eventually joining the staff as an administrative assistant (in those days, called a secretary). On March 24, 1955, Jean and Roland married, and the two moved permanently to the Mankato area for their working lives. Jean enjoyed bowling and liked to play cards, knit, square dance, and crochet. She loved being busy, involved, and helping. She worked at various secretarial positions around Mankato, including in the guidance office of Mankato High School (later Mankato West), Mankato Area Vocational Technical Institute, her home church of St. Paul's Lutheran (Wisconsin Synod) in North Mankato, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Faith was important to Jean, and she was devoted to St. Paul's. She sang in the choir, taught Sunday School, and provided piano accompaniment. She played organ for several churches over many years, stopping only about 2010. She made friends at church and everywhere she went. After Jean retired in 1993, she and Rollie (who had retired in 1988) sold their home in upper North Mankato. The pair lived in a 30-foot RV that they pulled with a truck bought for the purpose. Winters, they stayed in various locations in the southern U.S., helping erect new churches with the Wisconsin Synod's Builders for Christ group. Once they even traveled with the Builders as far as the island of Antigua. Summers, they pulled into a campground in Mankato and spent the time visiting local friends and family. They purchased a house in Bella Vista, AR, living there several years before moving back to Burnsville, MN, in the early 2000s. They bought an apartment-like unit in a senior co-op, being involved for more than 15 years. After Roland died in 2020, Jean moved into LuAnn's Place, a homey assisted-living facility in a peaceful residential neighborhood in Eden Prairie, MN. Jean received loving care from the staff and frequent visits from her kids. Her health declined over time, and she was placed on hospice bed rest in September 2023. She died in October, just a couple weeks after her 89th birthday. Preceding Jean in death were her husband, Roland; her parents, Arnold and Erna Goehring; and both sisters, Gertrude Boyum and Eleanor Yackel. On the other hand, Jean is survived by the many who loved her, including five children: Bradley, of New Ulm, MN, and his wife, Susan; Edina, MN, resident David and his wife, Laura; Robert, of Minot, ND, and his wife, Janice; Charles and his wife, Lisa, of Shakopee, MN; daughter Rebecca Gehring and her husband, Roger, of Menomonie, WI; as well as grandchildren Joshua, Erin, Jenifer, Anne, Hannah, Samuel, Grace, Ruth, Lydia, and Milo; and great-grandchildren Jayda, Damion, Zachary, Cale, William, Amelia, and Lucy. Family was everything to Jean, and she was very proud of every one of her family members. Jean will be cremated and ashes interred in a small private service at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Bloomington, MN, next to her beloved Roland. A public memorial service will take place at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Burnsville, November 11, at 11:00 a.m., preceded by visitation at 10:00. Memorials may be made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Burnsville. Washburn-McReavy.com Edina Chapel 952-920-3996

Tributes

Jean Isabelle Pederson

October 11, 1934 - October 21, 2023

Tributes

Jean Isabelle Pederson

October 11, 1934 - October 21, 2023

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