Theresa V. Peterson

Theresa Viann Peterson, 86, of Houston, MN, died on November 18th, 2025 at Valley View Nursing Home in Houston.

She was born on July 29, 1939 to Jorgen and Vivian (Carrier) Swenson at Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI. She was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith and was an active member of Looney Valley Lutheran Church in Houston. The youngest of five children, Theresa grew up with her older siblings Geraldine, Guy, Betty, and Ramona in Sheldon, MN. The family later moved to Houston to a house on Spruce Street. As a young girl, Theresa enjoyed spending time with her beloved friends and siblings, ice skating in the winter, roller skating at the rink, and taking the old boat out in the slough behind her family’s house, where she would look for turtles so she could paint the underside of their shells. Earlier this year, Theresa shared she still had dreams in which she was ice skating and roller skating.

Throughout her school years, Theresa was an active member of her community. In high school, she was a majorette and a member of the Houstonian yearbook staff. She acted in the class plays, sang in the chorus, and served as a class officer. She graduated from Houston High School in 1957 and after graduation attended Winona Secretarial School. Upon graduating from secretarial school, Theresa worked in the corporate office of Fairway Foods in St. Paul, MN. Realizing she greatly missed her hometown, friends, and family, she moved back to Houston, where she worked first at the corporate offices of Northern Engraving in La Crosse, then at Houston’s Ace Telephone Association.

One day, as a young woman in her early 20s, Theresa went skating at the roller rink, as she loved to do. It was there Allton Peterson saw her as she skated past and couldn’t help but ask her on a date. She married him on October 6th, 1962, at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Houston. For their honeymoon, Theresa and Allton drove to New Orleans in one of Theresa’s all-time favorite trips—it was the first of many adventures she and Allton would share over their 63 years of marriage. Together, they resided on their Looney Valley farm, in the same beautiful white farmhouse in which Allton grew up and where they raised their three sons: Gregory Scott, David Leigh, and Mark Christian. You would not guess Theresa had a house full of rambunctious boys. She was the kind of homemaker who made you wonder how she did it all. Anyone who had the pleasure of visiting the house would say you would have to search high and low for a speck of dust anywhere. She furnished the home beautifully, with an artist’s eye, creating a warm and loving home for her family and all who visited. The world did not have a kinder or more welcoming soul. From the moment you stepped into the entryway, Theresa would ask if she could get you anything, and she always had a tin of her delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies in the freezer, ready to offer to you with a glass of milk.

Though she would never admit it, Theresa was also a wonderful artist. She and her sister Ramona both loved to draw. Her love of art continued throughout her life, from helping her boys with their 4-H projects to creating paper dolls for her granddaughters out of old wallpaper sample books from the 1960s. What brought Theresa the most joy was being with her family. As a mother she created a loving home for her husband and sons. To her granddaughters, Meghan Clare and Molly Rose, Theresa was the most giving and attentive grandma. The girls remember fondly the many happy moments they shared with Grandma, from seeing the monkeys at Myrick Park, to braving preschool drop-off in a thunderstorm, to playing ‘house’ stocked with Grandma’s pots and pans outside among her tiger lilies. She was the kind of grandma who you could talk to on the phone for hours, who always reminded you to be safe when you were driving home (or, in Molly’s case, riding the subway in New York).

In her free time, Theresa enjoyed league bowling. She loved going on grocery shopping trips with her best friend and sister Ramona, where the two would sometimes be mistaken for twins. She could listen to country music for hours. She and Allton looked forward to watching Molly B. Polka Party and Larry’s Country Diner together. Her cooking rivaled that of any chef, though she always insisted she was just following the recipe. Her favorite movie was The Notebook, which she claimed she must have seen at least a dozen times, always stopping to watch whenever it was on TV.

She is survived by her husband, son Greg (Mary) of Chaska, MN and granddaughters Meghan of Minneapolis, MN and Molly (Jongtae Jeon) of Brooklyn, NY; son David (Becky) and step-grandson Kyler Konieczny of Houston; son Mark (Melissa Thompson) of Houston; and one sister, Ramona Huebner of Houston; along with treasured nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Guy, sister and brother-in-law Geraldine and Ernest Halverson, sister and brother-in-law Betty and Gordon Hatleli, brother-in-law Hollis Huebner, father-in-law and mother-in-law Clifford and Elvera Peterson, and nephew John Grover.

A private family service for Theresa will be held. Burial will be at Looney Valley Cemetery.

Service will be livestreamed. Please follow the link below to watch remotely.

https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTc2NDA4NDQxMzM5MDI2NCZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw==