Obituary of James Paul Peterson, Sr.

James Paul Peterson Sr., age 73 of Rosemount passed away on April 3, 2020. He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Wanda Peterson and step-mother Helen; his sisters Mary and Nancy; his brothers John, Thomas, and David; his brother-in-law Edward Brodie.

Jim is survived by Vida, his wife of 52 years; his children Lara (Josh) Peterson, James (Karen) Peterson Jr. and Jennifer (Paul) Davis; his grandchildren Taylere and Charles Peterson and Dylan and Ethan Davis; his brother William.

Jim was born in St. Paul and attended Mechanic Arts High School which is where he and Vida met at age 17. They married in 1968 upon his discharge from military service.

Jim proudly served in the Navy as an electrician aboard the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga. He was a long time member of the American Legion and VFW.

In the 70’s Jim worked for Ronson Corporation as manager of their service center headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. During his employment at Ronson he was sent to Tokyo, Japan to oversee production at the plant there. He also wrote and did the drafting for repair manuals for a number of Ronson products. Jim was a terrific manager and trouble shooter.

Jim was a jack of all trades. He did electrical work, carpentry, framing and sheetrock, plumbing, auto repair. For most anything that had to be done he found a way to do it.

He was a terrific cook and in his younger years enjoyed hosting family and friends. He especially loved Christmas and Thanksgiving, particularly when the kids were young. He loved celebrating birthdays.

Jim suffered a series of strokes in early 2018 from which he never fully recovered. While Jim was not able to return home he worked hard to recover limited mobility and speech. He made friends at Three Links Care Center and Bright On Hospice and enjoyed giving staff a hard time in his joking way, describing them as “My Friends”.

Jim loved his family and expressed great pride in his childrens’ accomplishments. He will be greatly missed.

Services Pending.