Traveled to Wash. State on Harley in 1930s

Elwood L. Peterson, 97, died Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Elmwood Care Centre in Onawa, Iowa.

Visitation with the family present will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at Pearson Funeral Home, 906 Pearl St., in Onawa. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Little Sioux Cemetery near Little Sioux, Iowa. The family is also planning a Celebration of Life service for a later date.

Elwood Louis Peterson was born April 29, 1914, in Little Sioux to William and Johanna Peterson. He was raised and educated in the area of his birth. He attended Smith Lake Country School near Little Sioux and then Mondamin High School.

Following high school, he traveled to Washington state on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. During this time, he supported himself by picking apples. After leaving Washington, he continued to travel on his motorcycle to other states before returning to Iowa.

On May 26, 1937, he married Irene Dorothy Flint in Omaha. The family pioneered in Minnesota on Rat Lake. Mr. Peterson worked around the lake and eventually started a sawmill. In 1942, the family returned to the farm near Little Sioux. He continued farming until his retirement in 1977.

He enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening, pets and wintering with his wife in Florida. He was a member of Ducks Unlimited, the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Institution.

He is survived by his wife, Irene, of Onawa; two daughters and sons-in-law, Adrienne and Mike Lehl and Janet and Jerry Jorgensen, all of Blair; a son, Brian Peterson, Little Sioux; nine grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by four brothers, Cyril, Scotty, Harold and Jack; and one sister, Opal. Memorials may be directed to the staff at Elmwood Care Centre to purchase equipment.