Joan Petersen

Joan was born August 14, 1933 to Erwin and Judith (Windingstad) Bruss in Echo, Minnesota. She was the oldest of two daughters. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Wood Lake, Minnesota. She graduated from Lutheran Deaconess Nursing School in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1955. She worked at hospitals in Missouri, Texas, and Illinois before working at Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria, Minnesota. She retired from nursing at the age of 75 in 2008.

She married Pastor Robert L. Petersen on June 23, 1962. Joan was a dedicated pastor’s wife and served as an organist, choir director, and Sunday school teacher at her husband’s congregations in Chicago, Illinois; Austin, Texas; Borger, Texas; and Naperville, Illinois. Her husband accepted a call to Trinity Lutheran in Carlos in 1977 where she served alongside him for 23 years. They retired to their lake home on Maple Lake near Glenwood, Minnesota. Bob also served vacancies in congregations in Douglas County for a total of 37 years where Joan often served as the substitute organist.

Joan was a devoted Christian who cherished the Bible, Christian music, and the teachings of Jesus Christ. She took solace in knowing the Lord was watching over her and those she loved. Her favorite Bible verse was Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Her Christian values informed every aspect of her life and molded her into the beloved person she was.

Joan Eleanor (Bruss) Petersen, 92, died November 3rd, 2025, at her home in Grand Arbor in Alexandria, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sister Leila (Bruss) Carlson, her brother-in-law Gary Carlson, and daughter-in-law Tammy (Saurer) Petersen.

Those surviving are her children and their spouses, Steven (Michele), Phillip, Timothy (Shannon), and Elizabeth (Philip); eight grandchildren, Leah (Kevin), Jordan (Talena), Kaitlyn, Todd, Benjamin, Peter, Nicholas and Bethany; two great-granddaughters, Wyatt Ann and Isla Mae, and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Carlos, Minnesota with the Reverend Philip Reimers officiating on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at 10 AM. 

Interment will be at St. Luke’s Cemetery in Wood Lake, Minnesota.