Gordon M. Petersen

Gordon Medby Petersen, originally of Wauwatosa, Wis., and a 20-year resident of Sun City West, died Aug. 15, 2023, at the age of 93.

Gordon was proud of his full-blooded Norwegian heritage. His father, Hans, was born and grew up in Medby, in the Lofoten archipelago, 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle. His mother Rense (Jensen) was born in Farsund on the southwest coast. Gordon was a 30-year member of the Sons of Norway, active in the Fosselyngen Lodge #5-82 in Milwaukee, Wis., and the Sol Byer Lodge 6-134 in Sun City, Ariz. To celebrate his love of Norway, his auto license plate was “Vyking” both in Wisconsin and Arizona.

He graduated from Wauwatosa (East) High School, and from the University of Wisconsin, where he received his B.S. Degree in Manufacturing Engineering. His first job was with the Douglas Aircraft Co. in Santa Monica, Calif., doing power plant analysis.

His career was interrupted by his Korean War Army military service, with basic training at Fort Ord, Calif., and then Track Vehicle Mechanics school at Fort Sill, Okla. He was stationed at the Tokyo Ordinance Depot, Japan, where he oversaw the rebuilding of military equipment from rifles to tanks to be returned for reuse in Korea.

After returning from the war, he settled in his hometown of Wauwatosa and in 1958 married Marion Mountain, of Langdon, N.D. They were married for 58 years. Marion passed on in 2016.

He took a job with industrial manufacturer Falk Corp. and received his M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee while working for Falk. He retired in 1992 after 37 years of dedicated service.

Gordon was a Freemason, a member of the Wauwatosa Lodge until transferring to the Sun City Lodge #72. He is a lifetime member of the Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, serving as trumpeter. He belonged to the Milwaukee Tripoli Shrine and was a longtime member of the Tripoli Drum and Bugle Corps, where he served as Director for 11 years. He enjoyed marching in the Great Lakes Shrine Association parades, as well as local small-town parades in around Wisconsin.

After retiring, Gordon and Marion moved to Sun City West in 2001 and they became active members in the Congregational Church of Sun City. Gordon joined the Church Choir in 2017 and loved every Sunday service, especially the Christmas Cantata.

His lifelong passion was golf. He kept records of his handicap, where played, dates, partners, and was a member of the Sandblasters and the Pebblebrook Men’s Club. His achievements included two holes-in-one, on 1/19/2011, and again on 2/5/2018. Also, he shot his age 13 times, the first carding a 75 when he was 78 years old, and the last shooting 88 at 88 years.

Gordon is survived by his son Scot Petersen and his wife Lisa Kosan, and his daughter Susan Jacobs and her husband Dr. Michael Jacobs, and four grandchildren, Max Petersen, Simon Petersen, Sarah Eastburg and Michaela Jacobs.