Dorothy Elizabeth Petersen

SIOUX CITY -- Dorothy Elizabeth (Larson) Petersen, 94, of Sioux City passed away Saturday, January 7, 2012, at a local hospital. Services will be 11 a.m. Friday, January 13, 2012 at Central Baptist Church, with the Rev. Lloyd Grant officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service Friday at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. Dorothy was born November 14, 1917, in Manistique, Mich., the daughter of Merle and Albert Larson. Because her father died when she was 2 years old, she was sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Minneapolis, until her mother remarried when Dorothy was 5 years old. She was raised in Minneapolis and had her nurses training in a small private school and the University of Minnesota. She married Stanley Petersen on September 2, 1941, in Minneapolis. Stanley passed away in September 2001. During her nursing career, Dorothy worked in many areas including St. Barnabas Hospital in Minneapolis, St. Joseph Hospital, Methodist Hospital, St. Luke's Medical Center, and Sioux Tools, where she served as the nurse. She finally taught nursing at Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City. She was a longtime active member of Central Baptist Church. Because of a special heart for missions, she and her husband spent several months of their retirement years serving as missionaries, first in Mexico and later in Ivory Coast, West Africa. She enjoyed knitting, golfing and bowling. Survivors include two sons and their wives, David and Faith Petersen of Long Prairie, Minn., and Richard and Barbara Petersen of Omaha; two daughters, Peggy Cappell and her husband, Kenneth of Culver City, Calif., and Bette Murphy of Bellevue, Wash.; grandchildren Jan Petersen and her husband, Reinhardt Schwienhorst of East Lansing, Mich., Michael Petersen of Kansas City, Kan., Brian Cappell and his wife, Michelle of Lakewood, Calif., Heidi Linzbach and her husband, Jon of Boise, Idaho, Sarah Jurado and her husband. Damien of Seattle, Wash., Caitlin Murphy of Bellevue, Wash., and Evan, Eric and Emily Petersen, all of Omaha; great-grandchildren, Aidan and Dylan Cappell, and Jackson and Lauren Linzbach; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; and siblings, Vella, Victor, Irene, and Allan. Pallbearers will be Evan, Eric, and Emily Petersen, Michael Petersen, Sarah Jurado, and Ken Cappell. Memorials will be used for the Mission Program of Central Baptist Church in Sioux City.