Irene Peterson, age 96, of Frederic, Wisconsin, passed away on Sept. 17, 2026, surrounded by family at the St. Croix Regional Medical Center.
Irene was born May 13, 1930, to Lawrence and Zatha (McLain) Fisk in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, and grew up near Freedom Lake, outside of Frederic. She talked often about walking to the one-room, Round Lake schoolhouse. She went on to graduate from Frederic High School in 1948. After graduation, Irene moved to Minnesota with some girlfriends where she worked as an internal page, carrying messages between offices at the Foshay Tower and other buildings in Minneapolis. She loved the city life, and it was at that time of her life that she met Elmer Markwardt.
Irene and Elmer married in June of 1957, and moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota, where they had two children, Michael and Patty. In August of 1960, Elmer passed away from a sudden illness. At that time Mike was not yet 2 years old, and Patty was only 3 weeks old. Irene returned to the Frederic area with her two young children. The Fisk family were longtime members of Trade Lake Baptist Church, so when she returned to the area, she returned to that church. It was there that she was reacquainted with Carol Peterson. He had been a youth ministry leader while she was in high school. At that time Carol was raising his four children (Susan, Kathy, Arlen, and Dwight) on his own, due to the passing of his wife a few years earlier, in a truck accident. Irene and Carol wed on Nov. 18, 1962. They went on to have three daughters together—Wendy, Wanda, and Tammy.
What a blended family it was! At the time, they owned both Peterson Lumber & Wood Products and Birchwood Beach Resort. If Irene wasn’t busy with one of the nine kids, she was keeping the books for both businesses, and if an employee called in sick at the sawmill, you could be sure she was out behind the plainer or stacking lumber to keep things moving. During the summer she kept busy with a multitude of the campground duties. Whether it was cleaning one of the four cabins, bailing boats or mowing one of the many campsites, she was always doing something. In the off season she and the kids helped Carol with collecting the many gallons of sap and cooking it all down to delicious maple syrup. Irene went to beauty school and though she did not work at that very much professionally, she gained the skills to do a lot of haircuts and perms for her family members! She also made very tight French braids for Wanda and Tammy when they were in gymnastics.
Irene was always active in their church. She was a Sunday school teacher for years, and she was very committed to the many Wednesday night clubs and activities the church held. She was involved in the Women’s Circle for decades, participating in Bible studies, making and serving food and helping to sew. Well into her 80s and early 90s, she would lug her sewing machine to the church to help put together the quilts for each year’s graduating seniors. She just loved being a part of whatever was going on and wanted to help in any way she could. Irene was also a member of the Homemakers of America for over 50 years. She loved to brag that she had held every office, be it president, vice president, treasurer, or secretary for the Homemakers at one time or another. She was also very proud of the fact that every child, grandchild, or great-grandchild who applied and qualified for the $250 Homemaker’s Education Scholarship received it because of her dedication to service in that group.
At Irene’s 90th birthday party she met Marlyn Wedin, a neighbor from the other side of Spirit Lake. They became fast friends and truly enjoyed each other’s company.
She spent the last 11 months of her life living at the United Pioneer Home in Luck, Wisconsin, where she received very compassionate care. She was popular with the staff due to her cheerful disposition. She was even voted in as the 2026 UPH Valentine’s Queen, and got to ride in the trishaw in the Lucky Days Parade in July, waving to the crowd and throwing out candy to the kids!
Irene was preceded in death by her husbands, Elmer Markwardt and Carol Peterson; daughters, Susan Larson and Patty Swenson; and her siblings, Lucille Brask, Mabel Kimmes, and Leroy Fisk.
Irene is survived by her children, Kathy Wilcox, Arlen Peterson (Teri Mattice), Dwight (Nancy) Peterson, Mike Peterson, son-in-law Rick Swenson, Wendy (Lydell) Larson, Wanda (Dana) DiMartinis, and Tammy (Paul) Zarn; along with her 24 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, Sept. 25, at 11 a.m. at Trade Lake Baptist Church, 20750 County Road Z, Frederic. Visitation will be held prior to the service starting at 9 a.m. Burial will be at Union Cemetery in Luck.
