Claus Alf Peterson

In the early morning hours of Friday, December 12, 2025, Claus Peterson passed away peacefully at CCM Health in Montevideo as the age of 89.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:30 PM on Friday, December 19, 2025 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Montevideo. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Cemetery in Montevideo.

Visitation with the family will be held one hour prior to the services at the church on Friday.

On September 17, 1936, Claus Alf Peterson was born to parents, Viktor and Rut (Johansson) Pettersson, in a white trimmed little red farmhouse, near Brakne-Hoby,Province of Blekinge in Southern Sweden. He was baptized on October 25, 1936, at Brakne-Hoby Lutheran Church and confirmed there in December 1950. At age 17, he left Sweden with his aunt Jenny Rickstad to Minneapolis, MN. He attended night school to learn English, held various jobs and began the process to become a US citizen. During this time, he met June Folkestad. On July 28, 1958, Claus married June Karen Folkestad at the old Trinity Church in Montevideo, MN. They lived in Minneapolis where he worked for Honeywell. To maintain his connection with the Swedish community, he belonged to the Gustavus Adolphus Society. The Society gave Claus the opportunity to play soccer, enjoy Swedish holidays and develop a strong support network. While living in Minneapolis, Claus and June started a family. They had four children: Sonja Louise, Jon Eric, David Roy and Leif Claus. In 1968, he achieved his goal of becoming a US citizen. The family moved to Montevideo in 1973 there Claus purchased the Hardware Hank store on Main Street, owning it for 17 years. Claus completed his education in 1992, receiving his high school diploma from the Montevideo School District’s Country School. Afterwards, he worked for Viessman Trucking, driving an 18-wheel milk truck. Driving through snow, rain, and sleet, he always arrived to test and collect milk from the farmers on his route.

Claus had the unique ability to solve complex problems. He was self-sufficient in dealing with any type of repairs, from rebuilding his home after the tornado of 1965 to rewiring his daughter’s Santa Lucia crown (converting it from European to American batteries). He enjoyed the outdoors, bow hunting, camping, walking with June, drinking coffee, and being the best grandpa. Claus’ woodworking skills allowed him to build and repair furniture. He drew his own plans and created tools to complete projects such as wooden canoe and two violins.

As a young man, he came to this country with no money, little formal education and speaking limited English but became an American success story. Helping him achieve this success were the positive efforts of Jenny and Roy Rickstad, his American sponsors, and the good fortune of meeting and marrying June. Claus was always willing to help anyone at any time to make their problems vanish with his thoughtful solutions and his friendly smile.

Claus is survived by his wife, June; children: Sonja Peterson of Montevideo, Jon (Jana) Peterson of Moorhead, Leif (Lynette) Peterson of Dawson; six grandchildren: Perla (Raul) Peterson Gasca, Katie (Dylan) Spicer, Anna (Micah) Esala, David (Rachel Williams) Peterson, Lindee (Jesse) Nelson, Jessica Olson; great-grandchildren: Leonardo (Leo) Rodriguez, Adriel (Adry) Raul Gasca Peterson, Viktor Spicer, and Broady Nelson. He is also survived by his brother, Jan-Erik Pettersson of Sweden, along with many nieces, nephews and friends.

He preceded in death by his parents: Viktor and Rut Pettersson; infant son, David Roy Peterson in 1961; brother Ake, sisters Siv, Ingegard, Essie and Gudrun.

Serving as honorary pallbearers are his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.