Colfax – Roy M. Petersen, 88, of Colfax, passed away at 2:40am, November 20, 2015 at his residence.

His funeral will be held at 10:00am, Tuesday, November 24, 2015, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Colfax. Pastor Connie Frase will be officiating. Burial will be in Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4-7:00pm, Monday, November 23, 2015, at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury and one hour prior to services on Tuesday at the church.

Memorials may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church or Advocate BroMenn Hospice.

Roy was born February 11, 1927 in Colfax the son of John and Hannah Winterland Petersen.

He married Iva Mae French on December 23, 1950, in Downs. She survives.

Also surviving are his sons, Carl of Geneva, NE, Ralph of Chester, Alan (Sabrina) of Colfax, and Glen (Jamie) of LeRoy; grandchildren, Katie Petersen of Phoenix, AZ, Kellie (Brian) Lane of Phoenix, AZ, Leeann (Tyler) Bain of Bloomington, Joshua Petersen of Gibson City, Tara (Chris) Walz of Goose Creek, SC, Cheyenne Petersen of LeRoy, Logan Petersen of LeRoy, Stephanie (Tyson) Heisner of St. Louis, MO, and Stuart Smith of Indianapolis, IN; great-grandchildren, Riley Cherry, Brayden and Brenna Bain, Eva and Alaina Heisner, and Bailey Lane, Autumn Walz; sister, Delma Freed of Fairbury.

Roy was preceded in death by his parents and one brother.

Roy was a lifelong farmer in the Colfax area. He was a member of the American Agriculture Movement where he was part of the tractor cade to Washington DC in 1979. While there he testified in front of Congress on behalf of agriculture.

Roy and Iva Mae, produced and sold produce for Petersen Produce which supplied produce to many local stores.
They also enjoyed traveling around the country to see various farming operations and spending time with friends in the Country Card Club.

Roy was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church where he was a member of the cemetery board and was part of the church choir. He also helped build the current church building. Roy was the Lawndale Assessor and then was a Trustee for more than 50 years.

Roy was a true steward of our land; doing his part to preserve and conserve our heritage.