Sermon Tone Analysis
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We are here today to remember and give thanks for the life of Roberta (Bobbie) Peterson.
Bobbie was a member of my congregation for 19 years and attended for a while before that.
In those nearly 20 years I learned that Bobbie had her priorities right.
She loved the Lord passionately.
When I asked her if she had any passages she would like read at her funeral she already had them written down.
Psalm 62:6-8
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
7 My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
8 O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge.
Psalm 67:1-5
1 May God be merciful and bless us.
May his face smile with favor on us.
2 May your ways be known throughout the earth,
your saving power among people everywhere.
3 May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
4 Let the whole world sing for joy,
because you govern the nations with justice
and guide the people of the whole world.
5 May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Isaiah 41:10
10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Bobbie lived her life trying to praise the Lord in all things.
She is now where she always longed to be.
Let’s pray,
Father, we come to you today as the author of life both here and in eternity.
We come to worship and adore you.
We also come asking you to comfort us in this time of loss.
Remind us of the blessing that has been ours to know, love, and to be loved by Bobbie Peterson.
Remind us of your promises and help us to hold them close.
Stimulate our devotion to You because of our presence here today.
We ask in Jesus’ name.
[Song]
*****
When you were around Bobbie Peterson you knew you were around a classy lady.
But you also quickly knew she was not at all aloof.
She didn’t think she was better than anyone.
She was down to earth and cared about people.
She was one of the kindest people I have ever met.
Whenever we got the chance to visit, a few hours were going to go by quickly.
They were always precious times.
Bobbie graduated from New London High School and then from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh with a degree in elementary education.
She only actually taught for one year because she married Dr. John Peterson on August 24, 1952.
There is some question as to who was smitten with whom first.
The story is that John was working for his dad in the clothing store in Burlington.
Bobbie came in with her two brothers and John was smitten.
As I heard the story, he flirted a little but to no avail.
John ended up rooming with Bobbie’s brother at college.
He learned that Bobbie was supposed to go on a blind date but it didn’t work out so John suggested to her brother that he invite to visit, and he would take her out.
The rest was history.
Here's where the story gets interesting.
Just last week I asked Bobbie, “So who was smitten with the other first, you or John?” Bobbie thought for a while and said, “I think I was smitten first.”
That is the sign of two people who were meant to be together.
Bobbie worked as they traveled in Iowa City and after John’s service in the military in Durham North Carolina where John finished his schooling.
She did the bookwork for John’s Oral Surgery office at home.
She enjoyed life.
She like water coloring, cross country skiing, fly fishing, and reading books.
She was a member of the Fine Arts League, PEO, Kings Daughters, the Burlington Golf Club, a board member of the Salvation Army and was a member of the Union Church in La Harpe for the last 19 years.
Bobbie gave freely of herself.
Bobbie loved her girls.
She would tell you it wasn’t always easy, but she counted her girls among her greatest blessings.
She adored her grandchildren, great-grand-daughter and her many nieces and nephews.
Grand-daughter Elise remembers Bobbie flying with her from Indianapolis to Chicago.
They stayed at the Ritz-Carlton.
From there they went and spent a magical time at the American Girl store.
She also remembers decorating Christmas cookies (her favorite being gingerbread cookies) She loved her Swedish meatballs and the generosity at Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas cookies, Bobbie made a bunch of cookies one year for the Ladies Auxillary Bake Sale at the hospital.
She made them early and froze them.
When she needed them for the bake sale she dug the container out of the freezer and found that Nena and Maia had eaten them all!
She was LIVID.
She was so mad she called the hospital and had them pull John out of a surgery because of an emergency!
She told what had happened.
He said “This really doesn’t count as an emergency.”
Bobbie, “O well it most certainly is an emergency . . .
now I have to take store bought cookies to the bake sale and I am mortified!”
Arie also loved the Christian traditions and as he got older he loved the long talks about the stock market over wine.
Just recently Bobbie asked Arie to buy her one of those bit coins on her 92nd birthday.
She said she would pay him back.
Arie said, “Ummm . . .
Granny, it’s $47,000.00!
Bobbie took such good care of John.
His back hurt so much of the time.
When John died, Bobbie missed him greatly.
It was a big decision to move from her home, but she was so glad she made the move.
She was blessed with wonderful neighbors in the Hartman’s.
She looked forward to her 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. glass of wine with Jeanette and so appreciated the times she was invited over for dinner.
Bobbie always was involved in a Bible Study and was devoted to her personal Bible reading.
She was wonderfully generous to the church and also to me.
She was my greatest cheerleader for my writing.
She was constantly promoting my books, and buying them for others.
I appreciated her support more than words can express.
When I went through a divorce, she ached with me.
When I met my current wife, she celebrated with me and was eager to meet her.
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