Memorial Services for Donald Peterson will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 11:00 am at the Peace Lutheran Church in Scranton. Pastor Mary Peterson will officiate with burial to follow fellowship in the Gascoyne Cemetery.

Donald Raymond Peterson, beloved dad, grandpa, brother, and friend, passed peacefully with familyby his side in Fargo, ND, on May 7, 2026, at the age of 98. 

Donald was born on August 18, 1927, on his father's farm in Bowman County. He grew up as theoldest of four children on the family farm south of Gascoyne and graduated from Scranton HighSchool. As a young man, Donald worked side by side with his father on the family farm, working theland and raising cows and chickens for milk and eggs to supplement the family income. In his freetime, he worked for local landowners during harvest.  On January 31, 1960, Donald was united in marriage to JoAnn Pecinovsky in Bowman, ND. After their marriage, they moved to the Peterson farm south of Gascoyne, where they raised their family: Jody, David, DeNell, Michael, Susan, and Sandy.

Donald, a lifelong North Dakota resident, was a foundational pillar of the agricultural and civic communities in the areas around Gascoyne and Scranton. Following his upbringing and adulthood on the family farm, he maintained strong ties to Bowman County civic and local boards over multiple decades, including township and county boards, helping shape rural infrastructure, agricultural policy, and road maintenance. He was a longtime member of the North Dakota Stockmen's

Association, an early member of the National Farmers Organization (NFO), and collaborated with the local chapter of the Dakota Resource Council (DRC) to promote legislation balancing family farming protections with oil, gas, and coal development across southwest North Dakota.

He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and camping. Donald and JoAnn hosted many hunting openers, with hunters from near and far gathering at the family farm for breakfast prior to the hunt. He enjoyed annual trips to Rollag for WMSTR Labor Day weekend with nephew Owen and his daughter Annika. He walked the Crazy Horse Memorial Volksmarch in the Black Hills with his daughter Jody for several years. He also attended the threshing bee in Sturgis with his daughter Sandy and the bike rally in Sturgis with his son David. Donald always had time to spend with his children and grandchildren, passing on his love for nature, animals, and the wonder of everyday life.

He enjoyed tinkering with anything mechanical and created tools on the farm to help keep machines working. He was a local historian who enjoyed sitting down with family and friends to talk about the past. Above all, he loved sitting among his cattle watching the spring calves at play. Family and friends were always very important to Donald.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Leonard and Emma (Grua) Peterson; his wife, JoAnn; son Michael; daughter Jody; sisters Joan Ward and Genevive Fisher; brother Vernon Peterson; and several cousins, extended family members, and in-laws.Grateful for every memory they shared are his surviving children: David (Kathy), DeNell, Susan, and Sandy; grandchildren Samantha and Tya (Hayden); and extended family, neighbors, and close friends Gene and Susan May.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the North Dakota Stockmen's Foundation, the charitable partner of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association, or Yesterday’s Farmers in Bowman,