Born in rural Parker, South Dakota, on August 15, 1932, Paul J. Petersen grew up driving a Farmall tractor and attending a one-room country school. One of the younger children of a family of 5 boys and two girls, when he was nine years old, Paul’s mother tragically died in surgery. That loss along with the death of his brother, Fred (Mickey) in a jet training accident in 1955 left him with a loss he carried until the end of his own life at Serenity House on February 13, 2019. Paul had battled lung cancer for more than three years staying home in Santa Barbara, with his companion of 11 years, Jackie Parker.
Paul graduated from Parker High School whose English teacher he credited for his love of poetry, public speaking, and the theater. He earned a BA degree from the University of SD, Vermillion, in 1955. He joined the Naval Air Force and received his commission as a Navigator/Bombadier. Married to Harriet Rose (Pat) Blaisdell, they made their home in Nebraska, Conn., Texas, and Merrill, WI where Paul’s career was as an insurance adjuster. He leaves four sons, Timm, Golden, CO; David, Richmond, TX; Fred, Katy, TX; and Paul J., Richmond, TX.
There are seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. His wife, Pat, preceded him in death in 2007. Four brothers Lorimar, Gilbert, Frisco, and Fred (Mick), and two sisters, Minerva and Joan, of SD also preceded him in death.
Paul joined little theater in NE and Houston and was a member of a curling team in Merrill, WI. In Santa Barbara, he was a proud volunteer in the Sight and Hearing program of Goleta Lions. Thursday mornings found him on the golf course with Lions friends. Well-known for his woodworking, Paul’s cribbage boards were an annual auction item at Lions’ benefits.
In appreciation for his care of the past year, memorials can be made to Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care Serenity House, 509 E. Montecito St, SB 93103. A date for inurnment next to his brother, Mick, on a knoll overlooking the peaceful Spring Valley, Turner County, SD, is yet to be determined.
