Carl Lester Petersen, 87, Minot and formerly of Lansford died on Saturday, December 26, 2009 in a Minot hospital.

Carl was born on March 11, 1922 in Layton, New Jersey to Christian and Pearl (Shay) Petersen. He was reared and educated in Sussex, New Jersey and graduated from Sussex High School in 1941. Carl entered the U.S. Army in March of 1942 and served until his honorable discharge in December of 1945. He was "called back" to active duty during the Korean Conflict. Following his discharge he was employed at the Curtis Wright Aircraft Factory in Lodi, NJ.

Carl married Julia Quick on May 5, 1956 in Warwick, NJ. They made their home in Garfield, NJ prior to moving to a farm in Montrose Township of Bottineau County near Lansford in 1958. In addition, Carl was employed as a civil service employee at Minot Air Force Base from 1968 until January of 1988. They moved from the farm to Minot in 1993.

Carl was a member of Bread of Life Lutheran Church - Minot and a former member of the Trinity Lutheran Church - Lansford. He was a member of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and was a coach of the Lansford American Legion baseball team for a time. He especially enjoyed exercising and golfing.

Carl's loving family includes his wife of 53 years Julia; children: Stephen (Lorraine) Petersen of Newton, NJ, Carla Soto of Minot, Donna (Shelley) Cole of Minot and Sally (Richard) Denny of Deep River Iowa; eight grandchildren; five great grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Carl was preceded in death by his parents, granddaughter, Lisa Petersen, sister, Ethel Vantassle and brother, Kenneth Petersen.

Funeral Service: Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. in Bread of Life Lutheran Church - Minot.
Interment will be held in the spring at the Lansford Community Cemetery.
Visitation: Tuesday from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home - Minot.
Memorials are preferred to the Bread of Life Lutheran Church.