Obituary of Wayne Norman Peterson

Wayne Norman Peterson entered God’s loving embrace on February 22, 2022 at the age of 78. He is survived by his beloved wife of 58 years, Dorothy (nee. Luedtke). He is further survived by his three loving children, Belinda of Mayville, Kevin (Amy), and Bryan (Lisa) of Waukesha. Wayne leaves behind two grandchildren, Jessie and Jared, as well as two great-grandbabies. He was the godfather to Amanda and Luann. He is further survived by his sister, Bernice (Armin) Pinkert of Big Stone City, SD as well as a myriad of dear relatives and friends that Wayne acquired in his earthly life.  

Wayne’s nickname was “Big Red” because of his fiery ginger hair and his larger-than-life personality. When Wayne was 20 years old, he married the love of his life, Dorothy. They built a beautiful life together that was rich with family, faith, many friends, lots of travel, trips to the casino, and a tiny bit of bickering for balance. Dorothy loved to cheer Wayne on at his baseball games where he was almost as animated on the field as he was cutting a rug to “Mountain Music” at family weddings. Family meant everything to Wayne and he would go out of his way to make holidays with his family special. He was even known to dress up as Santa for his nieces and nephews. He cherished the countless fishing and hunting trips that he took with his beloved sons, but always made time for trips with Dorothy up north to see the beautiful colors of autumn. After Wayne retired from International Harvester, he and Dorothy joined the OWLS group at their church. There they widened their social circle even further and truly enjoyed the various trips, lunches, and events that the group expertly organized. The world right now feels big and blue without Big Red in it. He will be missed immensely because he was loved so dearly. 

A visitation for Wayne will be held at Grace Lutheran Evangelical Church (700 Beechwood Ave. Waukesha, WI 53186) on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. with a funeral service to follow at 12:00 p.m. Following the services, Wayne will be laid to rest at Wisconsin Memorial Park (13235 W. Capitol Dr. Brookfield, WI 53005).