Philip Petterson

Philip Marvin Petterson, age 97, of Wheaton, Minnesota passed away Saturday, December 6, 2014 at the Traverse Care Center in Wheaton. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, December 13, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at Bethlehem Covenant Church in Wheaton with Rev. Gordon Bock officiating. Organist will be Cheryl Sheklton and soloist will be Dennis Johnson. Visitation will be held Saturday from noon until service time at 2:00 p.m. Military Rites will be provided by the Merton Dale American Legion Post #80. Interment will be in Rodnes Lutheran Cemetery, rural Erskine, Minnesota at a later date. Pallbearers will be Chad Petterson, Luke Petterson, Chris Hlavka, Amber Hlavka, Cullen Schmitt and Raku Schmitt. Honorary Pallbearers will be Sydney Hlavka, Summer Hlavka, Skyler Hlavka, Tanner Schmitt, Greta Schmitt and Emmett Schmitt. Philip Petterson was born to Bertha Nelson Petterson and Melvin Petterson of Erskine, MN, on February 18, 1917. He was baptized and confirmed in Rodnes Lutheran Church near his birthplace. He played basketball and baseball at Mentor High School having reached practices on skis during the winter. He graduated from Mentor High School in 1937 and went to work for Valley Seed and Grain Company owned by Peterson-Beddick of Thief River Falls, MN. In the fall of 1937 he enrolled in Dunwoody Industrial Institute of Minneapolis, MN and graduated in 1939 with a degree in electrical technology. He went to work for Garden Valley Telephone climbing high poles and restoring and repairing lines near Red Lake Falls, MN. Upon hearing that neighborhood boys were going to California for jobs, Philip decided to follow them. He planned to hitchhike to get there! After his father took him to Detroit Lakes, MN his journey continued on through Fargo, ND heading westward going on foot or by car and sometimes by bus. Philip was sure that he got a ride to Billings, MT because of a Dunwoody label on his suitcase. He kept the small amount of money he had hidden in the lining of his inner clothing to thwart off "highway robbery". The final part of his trip west brought him to Burbank, CA where Flying Fortress Planes were being built. Philip got a job there building a prototype using the experience he had gained studying at Dunwoody. The planes were fitted with fifty-caliber machine guns. Philip joined the Army Air Force after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He trained in the Las Vegas Gunnery School, the Mohave Desert of California, Tucson, Arizona and places in Texas and Oregon. Philip was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force from 1942 until 1945. In 1942 the Queen Mary Ship brought him to Scotland. He went from Scotland to Chelveston, England. This was the 305th Bombardment group of the 8th Army Air Force. He flew on twenty-nine missions in B-17 planes as a radio operator/machine gunner; once being one of three planes out of thirty to return to base. During the latter part of WWII Philip rewired and repaired B-17 aircrafts so they could fly again. Philip was a part of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. His plane dropped leaflets warning the French people to take cover as they were being freed from German control that day. The 305 Bombardment group was stationed in France and Belgium at the end of the war, where they took over Hitler's offices and also mapped Europe. After returning to the U.S., Philip was hired by Swift Electric Company of Wheaton, Minnesota just in time for the advent of farm electrification. Swift Electric crew wired farms from the Wheaton area to the Canadian border, including the Dakotas. Philip married Dolores Aukus in 1947, having met her in rural school District #56 where she taught, and he wired the school with electricity. After working for Swift Electric, Philip became the owner, licensed and serving the tri-state area of Minnesota and the Dakota's. He retired in 1986 and became interested in governmental problems and issues. He worked with legislatures on the no-smoking laws and also fought for saving the potholes and other environmental issues including hunting and fishing. Philip is survived by his wife of 67 years Dolores of Wheaton; two sons: Bruce (Sandra) Petterson of Dassel, Minnesota and Kyle (Karen) Petterson of Menahga, Minnesota; five grandchildren: Chad (Deanna) Petterson of Hastings, Minnesota; Amber (Chris) Hlavka of Hutchinson, Minnesota; Raku (Cullen) Schmitt of Becker, Minnesota; Luke (Maggie) Petterson of Fargo, North Dakota and Tom (Flora) Petterson of New Orleans, Louisiana; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Philip was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers: Stewart and Ralph; and several aunts and uncles.
or click here for android and Apple products

---

Visitation

Bethlehem Covenant Church

• Saturday, December 13, 2014
• Email Details
• 505 8th Street North
  Wheaton, MN 56296

Directions

---

Funeral Service

Bethlehem Covenant Church

• Saturday, December 13, 2014
• 02:00 PM
• Email Details
• 505 8th Street North
  Wheaton, MN 56296

Directions