Joel Peterson, April 7, 2018
Joel Peterson, longtime member of Olivet, died on April 7th at Our Lady of Peace Hospice four months after his cancer diagnosis. He was 71. Joel taught philosophy and religion for over 30 years at North Hennepin Community College and also worked several years in curriculum development at the MnSCU system office. He enjoyed working collaboratively with colleagues across the curriculum. Family activities included sailing, camping, and traveling. He was a runner and musician and worked to build programs at his church. He is survived by his wife Pat, daughters Jill (Chad) Towle and Jane (Eric Jacobsen), grandchildren Lincoln Towle and Roxanna Jacobsen, and his mother Nellie. At Olivet, he sang in the choir, served as moderator, and offered sessions in adult education. The memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 28, at 4 p.m. with dinner afterwards. Memorials are preferred to Our Lady of Peace Home, to Olivet Church, or to the Madeline Island Library at 1 Library Street in LaPointe, WI, 54850.
http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/0000251795/?fullname=joel-l-peterson
[in_memoriam_closing]
I read of Joel’s passing with a particularly heavy sigh. He was Dwight Dodge’s room mate in the small tower at Morse. Dwight was the first classmate to pass that I knew well. There were at least four of us, Julian Fisher being the fourth, who would gather on Sunday evenings after our dates left to have pizza and watch Mission Impossible. As I recall, no matter how busy we were, Sunday, at 9:00 was a chance to pause. For the remainder of the week, we hardly saw each other. They were good times with good friends. Rest in peace, Joel.
It is events like this that make our upcoming reunion an opportunity to reflect and hope we can all return for the next one. Time and change . . .