“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
Jeffrey John Peterson, 66, of Spring, Texas, entered his rest on Saturday, June 13, 2026 after a long battle with chronic pain.
Born August 6, 1959, Jeff was the fourth of eight children born to Charles and Marion (Feidt) Peterson, in Hastings, MN. On December 30, 1988, he married the love of his life, Sharon (Cook), beginning a 37-year journey together filled with faith, family, and adventure. Jeff was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, cousin, uncle and friend to many.
Jeff was preceded in death by his parents. He is lovingly remembered by his wife and children, Jordan (Wendy), Wesley, Luke, Daniel (Colton) Carpenter, Jeffrey, MaryAnn, Michelle and Jack; and by his siblings, Kathy (Greg) Lohmer, Dave (Kate), Cheryl (Tom) Ahlers, Deb, Laurie (Randy Ficker), Karen (Jim) Kranz and Denise, and many cousins, nieces, nephews and dear friends.
Growing up in Hastings, Jeff attended Saint Boniface Parochial School and graduated from Hastings High School in 1977. He enjoyed family vacations at the lake in Park Rapids, hanging out at Prescott Beach, pick-up basketball games with friends and became quite a contender in the Foosball scene, taking 1st place in Amateur Doubles in the 1979 Denver Tournament. In his high school years, he took up his lifelong hobby of golf. In fact, he boasted of playing golf in each of the lower 48 states and finally snagged his first and only hole-in-one in 2014, after his Mom, Dad and two of his kids had already attained that goal!
On New Year’s Eve, 1979, Jeff became a born again Christian and this radically changed the trajectory of his life. Within 2 weeks, he was a Bible student at Pensacola Christian College in Florida where earned a Master of Arts in Biblical Exposition. This put him on a path of truth-seeking for the rest of his life – truth about God, man, money, history, science, politics, you name it. Anyone who knew Jeff, knew that chit-chat was not his forte. He had a way of bringing any conversation around to his current philosophical pursuit and was gifted at making even the most complex ideas understandable, engaging, and often humorous! Jeff served as a Bible professor at Pensacola Christian College and later pastored a small church in southern Minnesota for four years, however, he found that organized religion involved more politics than he could embrace and chose instead to devote himself to a more personal, one-on-one ministry.
During several summers while in college, Jeff was a Bookman, a door-to-door salesman, for Thomas Nelson Publishers, presenting Bibles and educational books to the good folks of the Bible Belt. He was very good at it and still holds the company record for the largest book sale to one individual, NASCAR legend, Junior Johnson, who bought 50 Bibles in which to place his team’s bonus checks at the end of the year! (Jeff’s idea) That was the summer of 1988, which brought another blessing in that he met and fell in love with Sharon, a fellow Bookman, and they were married by the end of the year.
Welcoming each of their 8 children into the family was, of course, a profound joy for Jeff and Sharon. One of his greatest pleasures was simply watching his children enjoy one another’s company and hearing their laughter, even into adulthood. Whether restoring their century-old hobby farm near Eau Claire, taking the family swimming at Old Elk Lake, playing endless rounds of Wizard, or gathering around a bonfire to sing hymns and talk about life, Jeff loved family time together. Friday nights with friends were also eagerly anticipated with golf at the par 3 course, local fish fries and playing cards into the wee hours of the morning. Jeff enjoyed life to the fullest and loved making people laugh, though it typically happened without even trying!
In the last years of his life, the greatest truth that Jeff came to understand and relished sharing with everyone he met, was that God reconciled the entire world to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. That, “as in Adam, all die; even so, in Christ, shall all be made alive.” Jesus is the Savior of the WORLD — and Jesus does NOT fail!
Rest in peace, Jeff, until we meet again.
We invite anyone to share a memory or a message to the family at: https://birdsongcremations.mykeeper.com/JeffreyPeterson2
A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, July 20, 2026 at 2 p.m. at Cornerstone Bible Church located at 735 10th St. E in Hastings, MN. A reception will follow in the church fellowship hall.
