Mr. Erik W. Petersen, 83, passed away at Ridgewood Care Center on Thursday, July 26, 2012.

He was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on April 27, 1929, the son of the late Christ and Astrid (nee: Olesen) Petersen.  Erik spent his youth in both Lancaster, PA and Brooklyn, NY until moving to Aalborg, Denmark with his family until 1939.  He left Denmark in 1950 and served the United States with the Army. He was stationed in Texas and Okinawa.

Erik remained a bachelor for 52 years until he met his love, Patricia (nee: Molnar) Keleske.  They met at Dania Hall in Racine and later married on May 16, 1981.

Erik worked at JI Case Co for over 31 years, retiring in 1990.  After his retirement from Case he drove a school bus for School Services and Leasing for another 10 years.  He enjoyed his leisure time with photography, woodworking and being in the company of his family.

In addition to his loving wife, Pat, he is survived by his children, Kelly (Terry) Hamand of Racine, Jill (Dan) Smith of Fayette, OH, Jay Allen (Kim) Keleske of Racine; his grandchildren, Tracy (Tyson) Quella, Jeremy (Jayme) Herness, Jennifer (Mike) Rugg, Stefanie (Brandon) Blumke, Zachary and Erin Keleske; seven great grandchildren; his sister, Anna (Hans) Haubrich of Racine, brother-in-law, Josie Wales of Colorado; his dearly loved nephew and niece, Jeffrey (Joy) Haubrich of Raymond, Erica (Jeff) Moranski of Milwaukee; as well as other nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Family and friends are invited to meet in the Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. for a service celebrating Erik's life. Military honors will follow.  There will be a visitation in the funeral home on Wednesday from 10-11 a.m.  A private interment will take place at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, memorials have been suggested to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (386 Park Avenue South, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10016) or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, TN 38105.)

Erik's family wishes to thank the entire staff at Ridgewood Care Center for the loving and exceptional attention that he received under their care.