Roland Gustav Peterson

Roland “Rollie” Gustav Peterson was born on December 19, 1930 to Gus and Anna Peterson in Minneapolis, MN. He was the eldest of two sons. He attended St. Louis Park High School where he participated in the marching band, National Honor Society, and the Slalom Ski Team. He won the State Slalom Championship as a senior and graduated with honors in 1948. After graduation, he enlisted in the Navy Air Corps, within the Military Air Transport System (MATS) during the Korean War. He was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, HI, during which time he served as a Radio Man Petty Officer Second Class, flying regular missions to Guam and the Philippines. Rollie returned home from the Navy in 1952 and attended the University of Minnesota where he was a member of the Golden Gopher Marching Band. Rollie also attended the Brown Institute for Broadcasting School. He married Lois Bredesen on October 3, 1953. Rollie took his first job in radio broadcasting in Estherville, IA, but soon moved to Minot, ND. In Minot, he was the voice of the Minot Mallards Baseball Team. In ND, he also co-hosted the “Rod and Rollie TV Show” during the infancy of television, reporting on the news, weather and sports. After many years in broadcasting, Rollie moved into sales. He moved the family to St. Paul to work for 3M. In 1962, Rollie worked as a Regional Sales Manager for Allied Electronics. By this time, he and Lois had four young sons—Jay, Jon, Jim and Jeff. He was promoted to National Sales Manager with Allied, and moved the family to Chicago in 1966. The family moved back to Golden Valley in 1972. In December of 1974, Lois sadly passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. In 1976, Rollie met Lori Honold. They married on August 5, 1980 and Rollie became a father to Lori’s children—Brad, Beth and Lisa—who had lost their father in a drowning accident. During this time, Rollie worked for Immedia Duplication Services in Roseville. Rollie will be remembered for many things, but especially for his love of downhill skiing, a sport which he taught to his entire family and many friends. Fond memories include family ski trips to Colorado, annual New Year’s celebrations at Spirit Mountain in Duluth, and local skiing around Minneapolis and Dresser, WI. Rollie was known to deliver jokes on every occasion, often from a repertoire of Ole and Lena jokes, a nod to his Scandinavian heritage. Rollie enjoyed playing golf earlier in his life, but switched to tennis once he met Lori. He was an avid walleye fisherman on many Minnesota lakes. He and Lori enjoyed travel, and shared many wonderful trips together. Favorite destinations were Hawaii, Mexico, and the Italian Alps. Rollie loved his children and grandchildren, and hosting the extended family for special holidays. He often prepared his famous chili or delicious cheese omelets for the family. He was passionate about Jeopardy trivia and rarely missed the daily 4:30 show. Rollie had a love of music, especially high energy big band jazz arrangements. He had enjoyed playing clarinet in marching band, and was very proud of his talented musician sons. Rollie was also a true survivor, as he battled four different cancers over the course of 28 years. He rarely complained about his health and always used humor to make light of challenging situations. Despite health limitations, he was a loving care giver to Lori, as she recovered from brain surgery in 2015. They were true companions and best friends, remaining in their home until Rollie’s most recent hospitalization on September 28th. After sustaining a massive stroke, Rollie passed away on October 7, 2018, with his loving wife and many family members by his side. Rollie was preceded in death by his parents Gus and Anna Peterson; first wife Lois; son Jon; brother Dean; and grandson Kjell. He is survived by his loving wife Lori of 38 years; sons, Jay (Becca) Peterson, Jim (Zita) Peterson, Jeff (Jolita) Peterson, and Brad (Marcia) Honold; daughters, Elizabeth Kucera, and Lisa (Patrick) Brunner; grandchildren, Erik (Corinna) Peterson, Katja Peterson, Kory Peterson, Jamie Peterson, Jeremy Peterson, Eva Peterson, Abby (Duke) Merickel, Isaac Honold, CJ Honold, Sarah Honold, Marcus Honold, Jocelyn Honold, Chloe Kucera, Mitchell Kucera, Max Brunner, Marta Brunner, Mason Brunner; many other relatives and friends. A Memorial Service to celebrate Rollie’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 25th at Calvary Lutheran Church, 7520 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley. A visitation will be held at the church one hour prior to the service. Private interment will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Memorials preferred to American Cancer Society. Washburn-McReavy.com Edina Chapel 952-920-3996

Tributes

Roland Gustav Peterson

December 19, 1930 - October 7, 2018

Tributes

Roland Gustav Peterson

December 19, 1930 - October 7, 2018

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