By Karla Wennerstrom
Former Eden Prairie Mayor and Red Wing City Council Member Gary Peterson died at home at age 71 with his family on July 11, his wife Mary said.
She turned to Red Wing Mayor Donna Dummer, who was visiting her, when asked to describe why public service was so important to her husband.
Dummer said Peterson loved Red Wing – and he loved people.
“He loved people and he had a real mission for justice and the underprivileged and the poor,” Mary continued. “He cared about everybody.”
Peterson graduated from Red Wing Central High School in 1955. He studied at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and served on the school’s Board of Regents. “He went on to graduate from Luther Seminary in 1959 and later returned to Red Wing as the associate pastor at United Lutheran Church while being active in the community,” according to a city of Red Wing newsletter.
The Peterson family then moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. Peterson received his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, the newsletter stated. They returned to the United States and he accepted a call from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie.
Immanuel Church Administrator Bill Hawkins said Peterson was pastor in the early 1980s when he joined the church.
“My wife and I became very close to he and his wife,” he said. “He was a very learned, deep thinking individual.”
Mary said he was senior pastor during a time of rapid growth for Immanuel and Eden Prairie.
After working in the private sector, he served as mayor of Eden Prairie from 1985 to 1990. The Peterson children – Paul, Erik, Marcus and Marni – all graduated from Eden Prairie High School.
Public Works Director Gene Dietz worked for the city at the time. He said, “Gary was a very respected and honest, caring public servant for the city of Eden Prairie.”
Dietz pointed out that he provided good leadership as the city went through the tail end of the Flying Cloud Landfill closure process.
“He was a respectful person. I think he had a high regard for public service and city government and what we do for people,” Dietz said. “He was supportive of staff and the needs of the citizens.
“That was kind of his life’s calling was doing for people.”
After his service as mayor, the family moved to Mexico where Peterson became director of the Lutheran Center in Mexico City, “an educational and cultural center where people from both North America and Europe learn about the Mexican people, their culture, history, economic plight and other social justice issues,” the newsletter said. “While there, Gary and Mary worked closely with nonprofit organizations to improve the economic and educational status of the people there.”
The couple had retired in Red Wing in 2000, Mary said. He was elected to the City Council in 2004, taking office in January, 2005.
“This is Gary’s hometown,” she said. “He decided he was going to serve here.”
He was diagnosed with cancer at the end of February. He resigned from the Red Wing City Council for health reasons at the council’s March 24 meeting.
A memorial gathering attended by many Eden Prairie residents was held on July 15 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Red Wing.