Obituary

Linda was born January 28, 1947, in Sturgis, SD, to Lee and Doris (Chord) Mickelson. She grew up at their home just north of Enning, SD, where she attended grade school in rural Meade County. Upon finishing the eighth grade, she attended Sunshine Bible Academy, a Christian boarding school, where she was very homesick. When she got a chance to go home for Thanksgiving that first year, her baby sister didn't remember her.
Finishing her senior year at Sunshine, she began her studies at Pillsbury Bible College in Owatonna, MN. It was a lonely time away from home. Between her freshman and sophomore years at Pillsbury, she started a dating relationship with a strapping young man named Jim. Following her sophomore year and a session of summer school, she and Jim were married on September 30, 1967, while she was teaching at Hereford School. At the end of that school year, she became a full-time housewife. Between the years of 1970 and 1982, five children were born to their union.
Linda was a beloved pillar of her family, community, and church. She was rarely without a project or task, yet she was never too busy to pause and visit with friends and neighbors, and diligently kept up with long-distance relationships via phone calls and letters. Linda loved her garden, and she was an inexhaustible source of wisdom on anything that could be grown in soil. She was a top-notch seamstress, and could mend just about "any old thing" to make it as good as new again. For Linda, a bowl of ice cream was never a bad idea, no matter what time of day or night. Her grandkids had a special place in their hearts for Grandma, as she was always up for a game or an experiment, and was rarely concerned with what was "dignified." They once made popsicles out of beet pickle juice, just to try it! She was a best friend to each one in her family.
Her best friend of all, however, was her LORD Jesus Christ. Not a morning went by when she did not sit down to do her devotions, and write in her journal. Linda's life simply radiated the joy of the LORD, and her legacy is stamped upon the family she helped raise. Linda truly lived each day to its fullest.
Linda Yvonne (Mickelson) Peterson of Union Center, SD, went home to be with the LORD on Sunday, June 16, 2019. She was 72.
Linda is survived by her husband, Jim Peterson; son, Wade (Carrie) Peterson; daughters, Verna (James) Lilley, Cherri (Dale) Knoll, and Elida (Jason) Stillwell; son, Wyatt (Nicole) Peterson; twenty-one grandchildren; brothers, Darrel, Darwin, and Sam; sisters, Anne, Rose, and Martha; several in-laws; numerous nieces and nephews; aunts, June Mickelson, Ilowee Owens, and Ruth Mayer; uncles, Paul Chord, Richard (Joan) Chord; and several cousins.
Linda was preceded in death by her father, Lee Mickelson; mother, Doris (Chord) Mickelson; an infant sister, Verna Doris; and a beloved sister-in-law, Della Rae Mickelson.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 22, 2019, at Central Meade County Community Center in Union Center with a visitation one hour prior to services. Interment will be at White Owl Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial funds have been established for Gideons International and the Prairie Bible Church of God in Enning, SD.

She was the kindness of Pooh, to my self absorbed Piglet,
the caution of Eeyore, to my Tigger zest.
Dished out care and critiques in fair measure,
the reigning queen of dish-washing done best!
Wisdom, especially on health and gardens,
made a prize winning garment as my rags she would mend.
She was my big sister, and (just a bit) mother, Linda.

Half of her life was on borrowed time;
we're so thankful Lord, for those memories so fine.
But when you pull out large produce, in a bountiful year,
there's a huge gaping hole in your garden line.
She's reaping that bounty, I can hear the "Well done!"
but my heart, my life, my sad little soul,
Is still trying to choose, what to do with that hole.

Martha Hall