Alvira ""Vi"" Petersen

On May 5, Alvira “Vi” Martha (Reckelberg) Petersen climbed the steps to the heavenly balcony where she is joining the heavenly hosts in singing Glory to God in the highest. Vi was born on December 28th 1931 to Julius and Helen (Krueger) Reckelberg in Montpelier Wisconsin on the family farm. She was baptized the following day. She was the third of a family of 10 siblings, 3 brothers and 7 sisters. She attended the nearby High Bluff school for her first 6 grades. She attended St. Paul Lutheran School in Montpelier where her love of singing was instilled and her commitment to Christian education was encouraged and fostered. She was confirmed on March 25th 1945 by Pastor J.H. Nau. She graduated from Kewaunee High School in 1949. After graduation she worked at Leyse Aluminum in Kewaunee where her productivity was recognized by management as she was selected to participate in the piece work analysis. Nobody pushed themselves harder than VI. Under the mentorship of Martin Dobberpuhl she started teaching at St. Paul in Montpelier in 1956. During the summers’ she attended Concordia College in River Forest Illinois as a “six week wonder” where she the learned the basics of teaching. She taught at St. Paul until 1961. She went back to teach at St. Paul from 1965-1967. During her years there her largest class was 50 students. At a dance at Suster’s in Denmark, she met the love of her life, Wayne Petersen. During their years of dating, Vi supported Wayne’s volunteer work at church and helped chaperone many a trip up to the cabin at Mountain and sleigh riding on the hills of Denmark and Montpelier. They were married on June 11, 1960 at St. Paul in Montpelier. As a Lutheran school teacher, it wasn’t appropriate to have a public dance but her Uncle Herman’s Packer band friends provided good entertainment at the reception at the family farm. After joining Wayne’s home congregation, Christ Lutheran Church in Denmark, she started a junior choir where the targets of her recruiting efforts easily turned to putty, helped along with many fun events that created many wonderful memories. They had a son, Phillip, on January 6, 1962. During her years with Wayne there is nothing that he didn’t support her in. There were many trips throughout the US to conventions for his employer, Lutheran Brotherhood. There was also a 21 day, 10 country tour in Europe in 1972 that created many fine memories. For years she was a dedicated poll worker and took great pride in getting her ward’s results to city hall before anybody else. If she ever would have encountered the person who wrote in Charlie Brown for president, she really would have laid into them, as it really messed up her timing. She was lucky she never got a ticket racing to downtown with the results. During the late 60’s and early 1970’s Vi continued to be involved with teaching as she was a go-to substitute teacher. She was never one to back away from a challenge and worked extensively at Howe school where she achieved the very best from the special needs students with her caring and positive style. Her caring attitude was also mixed with commitment to hard work, both by herself and expectation of that from her students. She also started a 32 year run as a 4-H leader. In addition to local club leadership, she also participated in state exchange programs, as a chaperone, to South Dakota, Louisiana and Ohio. For many years she was the dining room hostess at Camp Bird, where she supervised the setup, take down and clean up with many wonderful adult volunteers and teenage dishwashers. She also was a superintendent at the Brown County Junior fair for many years. In 1975 she started teaching at St. Paul Lutheran in Green Bay, where she taught the lower elementary grades. She also started another junior choir. Everybody that went through her class room got their singing voice by the time they left. No 4th grade boy was a match for her. She got them to sing and they had fun. She regularly heard from students, and their parents, about what a great teacher she was. When she retired there was an article in the Green Bay Press which showed a picture of her with her students and the live chicken that she had in room that was sitting on eggs. People were amazed that she could house break a chicken when she brought the chicken down in the morning to do its daily duty while the kids got off the bus. That was her style. Retiring in 1995, she continued her active pace. Significant trips included visits to the missionaries in Zambia Africa, visiting a former student in Japan and singing with a mixed choir of over 20,000 at the Brandenburg gate in Berlin. Also, two house boating trips on the Colorado provided her with a unique venue to cook and provide her own special hospitality to her nephews and their spouses. She also had a fun time participating at the Weidner Center as a key volunteer in the food and beverage concession. She made time for many of her nieces, nephews and their children and made everybody feel special, but there was a special place in her heart for her two grandchildren. She enjoyed taking them on trips and encouraging their endeavors. Her love of singing was manifest in her granddaughter’s, Carolyn participation with the Green Bay Girls choir and various other choral experiences, including extensive church choir participation. While she didn’t know, or understand, hockey much she enjoyed going to many games. She took great joy in all the times Wayne was able to go for a round of golf with Martin. Starting in the mid 90’s Vi and Wayne spent time at Wayne’s picturesque home farm on the crest of the hill overlooking the Neshota Valley in rural Denmark. Vi was a great helpmeet to Wayne in being a very hospitable host at this very memorable location. Weddings and wedding anniversaries, birthday parties and family reunion’s, breakfast parties for the retired guys at McDonalds, weekday dinners featuring potato pancakes, and even just ice cream on the porch were all hosted with very memorable results. She also enjoyed gardening on the farm. Her homemade pickles were a staple at many functions. She enjoyed canning and cooking the produce that this garden offered. In 2000, VI and her sister, Wilma Rehbein, joined Gesangverein Concordia, a German singing society in Sheboygan. The weekly practices and gemuetlicicht hours, annual concerts and competitions, and national events were a wonderful addition to her social calendar. Oh and the parties they had on the farm for this group. When a visiting group from Germany came to visit in June 2006 on the farm seemed like a natural place to have a party. The weather cooperated and a wonderful time was had by over 150 people who just didn’t want to leave. She is survived by her husband; Wayne Petersen, son and daughter in law Phil and Kathy Petersen and grandchildren Carolyn and Martin. Additional sibling survivors include Audrey Reckelberg (Kewaunee), Wilma Rehbein (Larrabee), Ludwig Reckelberg (Luxemburg), Adolph and Mary Reckelberg (Kewaunee), Anita and John Schuller (Kewaunee), Joyce Lemke (Marshfield), Verni and Maynard Ihlenfeld (Luxemburg) and Bernice and Bruce Hanson (Madison). Vi was preceded in death by her parents, Julius and Helen (Krueger) Reckelberg; brother, Fred Reckelberg; and her sister, Judy Rabas. Additional those preceding her were brother and sister in laws; Mike Lemke, Donnie Rehbein, Leo Rabas, Melvin and Jane Petersen, Donald Petersen and Mabel and Ed Ruschewski. Additionally she is survived by many nieces and nephews and friends as well as well as hundreds of students, whether they be choir members, school pupils, or 4-H campers and members, who’s joy’s and success, setback’s and sadness she shared and felt. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to a memorial well that will be dug at Bethany Lutheran church in Chapata, Zambia. When VI visited Africa, coming from a family of 7 sisters who worked hard, she felt a real connection with those women she saw carrying water over long distances. Her wish was to make their life easier. She visited that church when she was there in 1997. Also an endowed gift is planned to support the children’s choir at St. Paul. Family and friends may visit at Knutson-Cotter Funeral Home, 536 County Road R, Denmark, on Friday, May 8, from 4:00pm until 8:00pm. Visitation will continue on Saturday, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 514 S. Clay Street, Green Bay, from 1:30pm until 3:30pm. Funeral Service will be held at 4:00pm Saturday with Pastor Jon Zabell officiating. Interment in Eastside Cemetery, Denmark. Online condolences and full obituary at www.cotterfuneralhome.com

Reception:
The Rite Place
1580 Bellevue Road
Green Bay, WI 54311