William Edward Petersen

William Edward Petersen (78) of Arden Hills, Minnesota passed away peacefully at Cerenity Care in White Bear Lake on the evening of November 20, 2024, after a short battle with Lewy Body Dementia. Preceded in death by his wife, Judith Ann, and parents Mary Edna (Burtis) and Eugene Edward Petersen. Bill was born December 27, 1945, in Memphis, Tennessee, but spent most of his childhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from Central High School in St. Paul in 1963 and went onto receive his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Minnesota in 1970. Bill enlisted in the Army and served as a captain in the Dental Corps at Fort Macarthur in Los Angeles from 1970-1972. He later practiced dentistry in St. Paul and met his wife Judee of 26 years. Bill was a dentist for 15 years before changing his profession to commercial real estate appraising. He was a very detail-oriented man who was extremely honest, intelligent, analytical and great with numbers, so he excelled in this line of work. Bill and Judee raised two sons, Brett and Adam, in Arden Hills and he was a devoted father who loved playing catch in the street and never missed his children's games. He played softball his entire life up until 2022 and loved the Minnesota Twins, playing guitar, cooking, scrabble, license plate collecting and model trains. He was soft-spoken, witty and had a wonderful dry sense of humor. His gentle nature and sweet demeanor will be missed by many. Bill is survived by his sons Brett (Kristy) of Mahtomedi and Adam (Emily) of Helena, Montana along with five grandchildren, Lauren, Luke, Matthew, Greta and Eleanor and his brother Scott of Virginia City, Montana. A service to celebrate Bill's life will be held on Friday, December 27th at Washburn-McCreavy Funeral Chapel, 515 Hwy 96 W, Shoreview, MN 55126. Visitation to be held at 1:00 pm with a service at 2:00 pm. A special thank you to the staff at New Perspectives in Mahtomedi and Cerenity Care in White Bear Lake who cared for Bill. In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider a donation to the Lewy Body Dementia Association: https://www.dementiasociety.org/donate.