Gregory Petersen

Funeral services for Greg Petersen were held on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. at the Grace Lutheran Church in Burke, SD, with Pastor Philip Henning officiating. Music was provided by Randy Sachtjen, organist; Jolene VanMetre and Karen Martin were in charge of registration. Casket bearers were James Petersen, Tim Martin, KayCee Martin, Darrell Bentz, Rod Frank, and Ivan Nelson. Honorary casket bearers were Blue Indahl, Tiny Sachtjen, and all of his card playing buddies. Interment was in the Graceland Cemetery in Burke, SD. Clausen Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Greg was born on March 29, 1949, in Burke, SD, to Orris and Ruth (Evans) Petersen. Greg was baptized in the Burke hospital on April 2, 1949, due to being born prematurely. Fourteen years later, on June 9, 1963, Greg was confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church in Burke.

Greg spent his younger years helping his family own and operate the feed mill in Burke - Petersen Produce. His summers were filled with playing baseball with his pals. He picked up his first golf club at the age of ten and was a natural. He would go on to excel at golf, winning many tournaments throughout his younger days while enjoying numerous four-man scrambles as he grew older.

A proud Bulldog, Greg graduated from BHS in 1967. From there, he went on to major in political science and minor in music at South Dakota State University. From a young age, Greg was an accomplished pianist—a talent that earned him the honor of accompanying SDSU’s men’s choir, The Statesmen, for several years during college. After four years of driving his Olds Cutlass back and forth to Brookings, Greg graduated from SDSU in 1971 and remained a lifelong Jackrabbit fan.

After graduation, Greg returned to Burke and began working for Doc McKenzie at the Burke Vet Clinic. Little did he know that he would meet his wife, Kathy, while working there. Kathy was attending North Carolina State for animal science, and her college friend, Betsy Senter, convinced Kathy to visit Burke in January 1980. She ended up taking a job at the same vet clinic where Greg worked, and the rest is history.

On September 20, 1980, Greg and Kathy were united in marriage at Grace Lutheran Church. Greg soon transitioned to work alongside his dad on the family farm just south of Burke. Greg’s proudest achievement in life was being “dad” to James and Courtney. They both grew up sharing a passion for two of Greg’s favorite hobbies, golf and piano.

While Greg would argue that he never really quit farming, it soon became his ‘part-time’ job, as he took the last load of Petersen Charolais cattle to town in the early 2000s. It didn’t take long for Greg to fill his time with his third favorite hobby, any kind of game that involved a friendly wager. Known as ‘Pete’ to his beloved wagering friends, he loved a good game of Hold’em and never missed the chance to participate in a sports league bracket. Even after being diagnosed with cancer, playing cards with his friends was the highlight of his week.

Greg kicked off his last full-time job in 2012, being a grandpa to Hattie (10), Nora (7), and Walter (3) . Some of their best memories with Grandpa were being taught how to light a firecracker (and run), and learning how to drive his “Jackrabbit” golf cart.

Gregory (Pete) Gayle Petersen, age 73, of Burke, SD, passed away on March 28th, 2023, after a hard-fought two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer.

Greg is survived by wife Kathy; son James of Vancouver, WA; daughter Courtney (Mike) of Mount Vernon, SD; and grandchildren Hattie, Nora, and Walter.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Orris and Ruth Petersen.