Lauretta Burshek Peterson

Lauretta Peterson, 87, of Fairfield, passed away from natural causes on April 16, 2018. Services will be held at a later date. Cremation has taken place at Schnider Funeral Home. She was born June 13, 1930 to John and Lauretta (Murray) Burshek in Lead, South Dakota. She is the youngest of 6 children. Her family ran a dairy for many years near Miles City, MT where they had moved when she was quite young. Lauretta married Earl Peterson on June 13, 1949 and they moved to Great Falls, where she completed a course in Cosmetology. Earl and Lauretta had 4 children, and as their family grew, they moved to Highwood, then Geraldine, where Lauretta was able to work in a Hair Salon part time. Finally in the spring of '67, the family moved to a Ranch northeast of Fairfield where they spent the next 45 years. Lauretta's experiences, from her childhood days in the dairy, to her skill at feeding a family on a budget, and her ability to make use of absolutely everything made her an excellent farm/ranch wife, mother and partner. Lauretta was active at St. Paul Lutheran Church and the women’s group, WELCA. They moved to a house in Fairfield in the spring of 2012, then to Front Range Assisted Living. After Earl passed in 2017, she stayed at Front Range until she moved to Ruby House Assisted Living in Great Falls. Lauretta was preceded in death by her husband, Earl; her parents; three brothers; two sisters,;and a son-in-law, Russ Kolste. She is survived by her daughters, Victoria (Ken) Holmes of Fairfield, Agnes Kolste of Fairfield, and Kathie (Dick) Flanders of Plymouth, NH; son Ernie (Diane) Peterson of Great Falls; eight grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; and numerous nephews and nieces.