Marjorie Sally Peterson

Marjorie Sally Peterson (Croes), age 77, of Shell Lake, WI passed away on Monday, August 18, 2025 in her home after a short battle with lung cancer.
Marjorie, known as Marge by most, was born on December 6, 1947 to Leo and Dorothy (Gruening) Croes in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, joining older sisters Jeannette and Sharon. Marge attended school at and graduated from White Bear Lake High School in 1965. After high school Marge worked a clerical position at American Hoist and Derrick in St. Paul, where she worked until she had her son, Kent Leo in May of 1968. Marge met garbage man Leonard Peterson, whom everyone called Joe. After dating a while, and many evenings spent dancing the night away, they married on September 18, 1970 and Joe adopted Kent as his son. In 1973, they moved to Shell Lake, Wisconsin and in December of 1975 their daughter Tammy Marie completed the family.
Marge worked as a secretary at WITI (now Northwood Technical College), and then finally landed in the Washburn County Treasurer's office where she spent the next 30-plus years as a Deputy Treasurer. Marge made so many friends while working with the county, both co-workers and community members. She became known for wearing a ring on every finger, sometimes more than one, always dressing up for Halloween, even when she was the only one to do so, and sharing a laugh and kind smile with everyone she encountered. Surely her friendly disposition helped take the sting out of paying property taxes for many folks coming to the counter.
Upon retirement, Marge and Joe had grand plans of adding to their beloved flower gardens when not traveling around the country sight-seeing and memory-making. Sadly, cancer took Joe only a few short years after their working years ended. Marge maintained the flowers and tractor-tire vegetable gardens herself over the following 9 years. In March of 2025, cancer reared its ugly head again when Marge was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. Five short months later, she was gone. Marge and Joe, back together again, dancing in the clouds.
Marge is preceded in death by her husband Leonard (Joe) Peterson; parents, Leo and Dorothy Croes; and sister, Jeannette (Dale) Curtis. Surely the reunion in heaven has been a joyous one. She is survived by her son Kent (Karen) Peterson; daughter, Tammy (Tucker) Fee; 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren; sister, Sharon Benjamin; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives. Marge's kids and grandkids were the greatest treasures in her life, a fact that was obvious to anyone who knew her. She will be terribly missed forever, the best mom, grandma, GG (great-grandma), sister, aunt and friend there ever was.
There will be a scattering of ashes, attended by FAMILY ONLY, on Thursday, September 25th at 1:00 PM, immediately followed by a gathering to celebrate Marge's life with her family, friends and community at the Shell Lake Community Center (200 W. Lake Dr.) at 2:00 PM. All are welcome to come share some food and some memories at that time.