Alma Peterson

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 6th at 2:00 PM at Grace Lutheran Church with Rev. Timothy Lundeen officiating. Visitation will be held for one hour before the funeral at the church on Saturday, and interment will be at Fairview Cemetery, rural Erskine. The Carlin-Hoialmen Funeral Home of Erskine is in charge of the arrangements. Messages of Condolence may be sent to www.carlinhoialmen.com.Alma Rubelyn Peterson, age 99, was born August 16, 1915, in Havre, Montana to Joseph and Nellie (Hagen) Shellum and died August 31, 2014, at Pioneer Memorial Care Center, Erskine, MN. Alma was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran church and was a long-time member of Grace Lutheran Church in Erskine.Alma's family moved from Montana to Fergus Falls, MN, when she was 4 years old. She graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1934. She later moved to Clearwater County and held various jobs to help her family during the Depression, including waitressing at Burt's Cafe in Bagley, working two summers at Itasca State Park as a maid at Douglas Lodge, and working as a telephone operator in Bagley.On June 1, 1940, Alma married Harold W. Peterson, of Erskine. They lived in Bagley and Red Lake Falls before settling in Erskine, where Harold worked for Garden Valley Telephone Company. The two enjoyed a full life together, camping and fishing when their children were young and eventually buying a small cabin where they enjoyed summer weekends. Harold passed away in 1983 and had worked for Garden Valley for 49 years.In the years after Harold's death, Alma traveled often, visiting family in other states and taking two trips to Norway, which she spoke of frequently. She was still traveling in her 90s when she took the train to Chicago to see her great-granddaughter dance in a recital. In Erskine, Alma stayed busy playing cards with friends, fishing with her grandchildren, shopping with her daughter and nieces, and occasionally visiting the casino with nickel rolls weighing down her purse.Alma was an avid gardener and was known for her beautiful flowers. She especially loved roses. Sewing was also a hobby, and she made many mission quilts at church. Although she was known for excellent jams and preserves, one of her best dishes was her apple pie; she could often be found in her later years surrounded by apples she was paring while watching television.In 2012 Alma moved to the Country Place assisted living apartments in Erskine, a transition made more comfortable by the frequent visits of her sons and extended family, and the loving attention of her daughter Karen. She spent her last years visiting with her friends, playing Bingo and staying fit by walking the halls to lunch, dinner and afternoon movies.A kind, generous and faithful woman throughout her long life, Alma died peacefully August 31 after a short illness. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Harold, four sisters: Alice, Mildred, Esther and Edith; and a brother, Kenneth. She is survived by three children: Harold R. Peterson, Jr. (Sharon), of Corpus Christi, Texas; Karen Gahlon (John), of Bagley, MN., and Bruce Peterson (Amy Lindgren), of St. Paul, MN. Also surviving are two brothers: Harold Shellum, of California, and Robert Shellum (Margaret), of Shevlin, MN; four grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.