Obit: Peterson, John M. (1899 - 1964)

Contact: History Buffs

Surnames: Peterson, Hoagland, Liepert, Harder, Coyier

----Sources: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood Co., Wis.) Oct. 1964

Peterson, John M. (1899 - 16 Oct. 1964)

Neillsville - John M. Peterson, widely known Neillsville attorney, died Saturday evening after a lingering illness.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Neillsville Masonic Temple with the Rev. R. S. Hoagland of the Unitarian Church of Madison, officiating. Burial will be made in the Memorial cemetery at Colby with military rites at the graveside.

Friends may call, beginning Tuesday morning, at the Georgas Funeral Home on Fifth St., where the body will repose until noon Wednesday when it will be taken to the Masonic Temple.

John M. Peterson, son of the late N. P. Peterson and Marthea Larson Peterson, was born Nov. 2, 1899, at Colby. His father was one of the earliest pioneers at Colby, coming there prior to the time the building of the railroad there in about 1871. Mr. Peterson was graduated from Colby grade and high schools, and thereafter served in World War I.

He attended Lawrence College at Appleton and was married to the former Harriet Liepert of Unity in 1919. For approximately seven years, he served as a rural mail carrier out of Colby, during which time he took several courses with the University Extension Division. He then attended law school at the University of Wisconsin and received his law degree in 1930.

Mr. Peterson practiced his first four years of law at Owen, Wis. He was regional claim examiner with headquarters at Wisconsin Rapids in 1933-34. For several years he was a member of the County Board, and was the first chairman of the Mediation Board during the depression years.

In 1935 he and his family moved to Neillsville, where he was elected Clark County district attorney. He was reelected for a second term, and continued practicing law in Neillsville until his illness.

Mr. Peterson was keenly interested in community affairs and volunteered as the first veteran service officer of Clark County and held that position for several years.

Upon reorganization and the building of the new Memorial Hospital, he was elected a member of the board of directors and served as secretary for ten years. He was home service chairman of the Red Cross chapter for over 20 years, and was a member of the board of trustees of the Clark County Hospital at Owen for the past several years.

Skiing was one of his favorite sports. Mr. Peterson was one of the first promoters of the Bruce Mound ski area, and served as the first secretary of the Half Moon Ski Club. He was a member of the local and state bar associations, the Masonic Lodge of Neillsville, the Eau Claire Consistory, Danish Brotherhood of Withee, Neillsville American Legion, and the First Unitarian Church at Madison.

Survivors include his wife, two daughters, Mrs. Hans (Donna Rae) Harder, Neillsville, and Mrs. Duane (Shirley) Coyier, Hood River, Ore., and eight grandchildren.

 

 


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