Viola Knott, 84

Funeral service for Viola Knott, 84, of Tracy, will be at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, April 4, at the Zion Lutheran Church in Tracy. Visitation will be Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. with a Prayer Service at 6:00 p.m. at Almlie-Horvath Funeral Home in Tracy. Visitation will continue from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Monday at the church. Interment will be at Hoiland Cemetery in Tracy.

Viola Marie Knott was born on June 1st, 1931, in Tracy, the youngest of eight children to John and Elma (Olson) Johnson. Vi was baptized and later confirmed in the Lutheran Faith at Zion Lutheran Church iin Tracy. Her education began at District 88 in Monroe Township, Lyon County, and she graduated from Tracy Public School. On April 8, 1949, Vi was married to Robert Knott. They made their home on the Knott family farm. Vi and Bob were blessed with four sons. A lifelong member of Zion Lutheran Church, she was a member of Ladies’ Aid, Zion Lutheran Church Women and sang in the choir. For a number of years, Vi worked as a nurses aid at the Tracy Nursing Home. She enjoyed gardening and yard work. She took great pride in her home, both inside and out. Vi learned the art of rosemaling and painted many pieces for family, friends and Zion Lutheran Church. Her largest project was painting scenes of the old country on the interior walls of the Norwegian house that sat in her yard. This house was donated to the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum and has become a very popular exhibit.

Vi’s favorite times were spent with family and friends. She cherished family gatherings, especially in her home as she showed her talent in the kitchen and set many feasts on her table. Viola became a resident of Prairie View Senior Living Center in 2014.

On March 26th, 2016, at the age of 84, she left this world on angels’ wings to join her Risen Savior and touch the Face of God in perfection for eternity.

A devoted wife and mother, Vi leaves behind sons and daughters-in-law : Steve and Cookie, Chuck and Paula, Mike and Julie, David and Kris and Jean Knott, 12 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, sister-in-law Emiko Johnson and many nieces, nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Robert, her parents John and Elma Johnson, brothers Kenneth, Orvin and Maurice, sisters Myrtle, Vivian, Ruth and Eldora.

Winston “Wimpy” Peterson, 83

Funeral services for Winston “Wimpy” Peterson, 83, of Tracy were held  at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Tracy Lutheran Church. Military rites provided by Tracy American Legion Post 173. Burial at Bethany Lutheran Cemetery in rural Garvin.

After a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s, Wimpy died Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at the Golden Living Center in Slayton following a brief stay at the VA in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Winston Morrell Peterson was born May 23, 1932, to Vic and Ellen (Hobert) Peterson in Tracy.In 1963, he married Elle (Beret) Uggen in St. Paul, and the couple had three children: Sissa, Eric and Per.

Wimpy graduated from Tracy High School in 1950 and served as a cook in the US Army from 1953 until his discharge in 1960. He was stationed at both Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri and Colorado Springs, Colorado. After returning home, he continued the construction business his grandfather and father built in Tracy. Through the century-old business, Wimpy’s craftsmanship can be found all over Tracy — in both residential and commercial areas. During his days in construction, he and his wife ran the Kafe Skandia in downtown Tracy, which for years was the place to go for breakfast, a great cup of coffee and plenty of good-natured ribbing. The Skandia was a downtown staple in Tracy for many years. Wimpy was involved in Kiwanis and Jaycee clubs in Tracy and sang in the Tracy Lutheran choir for 50 years.

Besides his family and dogs, Wimpy’s great loves were the outdoors — in particular Tennashoe Pass and the family farm on Lake Maria in northern Murray County. That was where his mother and her three brothers lived in their younger years and where his children now reside. Aside from being home to fertile farmland, Maria was also home to “The Old Duck Inn” — Wimpy’s famed hunting shack. Many hunting stories, and Twins and Vikings wins and losses were shared at “Duck Inn.” Long ago, the small lake developed a reputation for great waterfowl hunting, and Wimpy fondly remembered the days where “you never got skunked on Maria.” He longed for the lake’s return to glory so much that he recently donated a parcel of family land on Maria to the DNR to install an electric fish barrier to keep the carp out so the once-proud lake could be restored to its original state, opening the door for ducks and geese to once again call Maria home. He truly did the “Boys of 3M” proud. His love of hunting also showed through with his longtime work with Tracy’s former Ducks Unlimited chapter and the current Shetek Prairie Chapter of the Minnesota Waterfowl Association. Wimpy also loved golden retrievers (is there any other breed?), hunting, golfing, watching the Vikings and Twins and following his grandchildren in school and in athletics. He also cherished his decoys and duck stamp mugs and enjoyed working on his goose and duck boat decorations on his back porch in Tracy.

Wimpy will be missed by his wife, Elle; children Sissa (and David) Bitton, Per of Lake Maria and Italian AFS daughter Elisabetta Frigerio of Lake Como, Italy; grandchildren Alex (and Morgan) Bitton of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Galiya Bitton of Brookings, South Dakota, and Olivia Peterson of Lake Maria; as well as other relatives in the U.S. and Sweden, and many friends.

 He was preceded in death by his son, Eric, in 2014.

Blessed be his memory. Rest in peace, Umpy.