ROCHESTER -- JoAnne Peterson, 76, of Blue Earth, Minn., died Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, at St. Luke's Lutheran Care Center, Blue Earth.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Blue Earth, with the Rev. Stephen Bohling and the Rev. Mark Wilms officiating. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Blue Earth.

Visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Patton Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 400 E. 14th St. in Blue Earth, and one hour prior to services at the church.

Web tributes may be left at www.pattonfh.com.

JoAnne was born May 27, 1933, in Faribault County, Minn., the daughter of Maynard and Josephine (Sabin) Holmseth.

She was raised and educated in Frost, Minn., where she was a 1951 graduate of Frost High School. She received her Normal Training at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa, and began teaching. She taught in rural schools in northern Iowa at Lakota, Iowa, and in Winnebago, Minn. She was married to Paul Peterson on Dec. 22, 1956, at South Blue Earth Lutheran Church. The couple moved to their farm in 1957 where they raised their three daughters. Through the years, she had continued her education and earned a bachelor's degree in education from Minnesota State University. In 1970, JoAnne began teaching at the Blue Earth Elementary School and continued until her retirement in 1992.

JoAnne was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and of the former Christian Women's Club. She loved to read, travel, do puzzles and any family gathering, especially school and sporting events involving her grandchildren.

JoAnne is survived by her husband, Paul Peterson of Blue Earth; her daughter, Carol (Steve) Yaggy of Rochester and their children, Jordan and Kristin Yaggy; her daughter, Kristin Pirsig (David Pirsig) of Blue Earth and her children, Emilie, Hayley, Jonah and Whitney Pirsig. She is also survived by her brother, Bill Holmseth of Oshkosh, Wis.

She was preceded in death by her parents, a daughter, Beth Peterson, and two brothers, Robert "Blackie" Holmseth and Merrill Holmseth.

Memorial donations are preferred to the Alzheimer's Research Department at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

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