Celebration of Life Service at Macken Funeral Home – River Park Chapel, Rochester on March 12, 2020
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul. – Hebrews 6:19
Obituary forArdelle Ann (Jacobson) Peters age 69 – Le Roy, MN
Tribute Wall
Ardelle passed peacefully to heaven in her childhood home in the presence of her family and close friends after a 2-year battle against cancer. She was adopted as a baby into the loving home of Joseph and Nina Jacobson of Ostrander, MN. She grew up on a farm and loved her childhood, as well as loving animals of all types and varieties. She took an early interest in animal husbandry. She was a Fillmore County Dairy Princess and showed dairy cows in 4-H.
She was a graduate of Le Roy-Ostrander High School and went to college at Golden Valley Lutheran before going to Abbot-Northwestern Hospital for nurses’ training, ultimately obtaining certification as a Registered Nurse. Her over 30-year career as a labor and delivery nurse ushered thousands of babies into the world and she was an advocate for the born and unborn. She worked at several institutions including Methodist Hospital in Rochester, Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar, and Olmsted Medical in Rochester.
Ardelle was married for over 46 years to the love of her life Danial Peters. Together they had 3 wonderful children, Brenda, Nathan, and Naomi. Faith in Jesus was the center of their family life and she tried to lead by example in her daily walk. Dan and Ardelle lived in LeRoy, MN, Rapid City, SD, and Willmar, MN.
Ardelle had numerous hobbies and talents. Her passion for all things horses included showing and breeding top quality Morgans and Saddlebreds. She also operated a horse rescue and therapeutic program on her family farm called Turning Point Stables. Other interests included dog breeding and showing, outdoor floral gardening, photography, home decor, baking, sewing, and all things domestic. Ardelle was known by all her friends and family for a dynamic and compelling singing voice and she was a talented musician and soloist. As a member of her college choir she sang solos in Europe and was a member of numerous musical groups and orchestras during the course of her life.
Ardelle was preceded in death by her beloved father, Joseph Jacobson, brother, Dennis Jacobson and mother, Nina Jacobson. She leaves her husband Dan Peters, Brenda Cimbura (daughter) who lives in Blaine, MN, Tim Cimbura (son-in-law), Nathan Peters (son) who lives in Athens, GA, Miki Lu Peters (daughter-in-law), Naomi Eden (daughter) who lives in St. Cloud, MN, and Jason Eden (son-in-law). As well as 3 granddaughters Shea, Arianna, and Brielle.
Family Tributes to Ardelle Peters – Celebration of Life Service
March 12, 2020
A Life of “Steadfast Faith” – Naomi Eden, Daughter
There is too much to say and not enough time to say it. So, I have to try to condense my thoughts about a lifetime of living and loving. I’ve settled upon the theme of “steadfast faith.”
Mom grew up with a rather idyllic childhood by all her accounts. She had her difficulties, but overall her parents adored her and she adored them. Faith in Jesus was a defining feature of their family life. She was especially close to her father. She loved going and doing chores out in the barn because she could be at his side. She often talked about how her parents would speak Norwegian to each other but they never taught her or her brother. This was so they could have private conversations. When she was 17 her beloved father died suddenly on a cold January day. This was a defining event of sorrow, but it wasn’t the last by any means. A year later her brother Dennis was paralyzed in a car accident and the following year he died in a very similar car accident. Now my mother and her mother were all that was left of the family until a tall dark and handsome man entered the equation. Dan surely was the hardworking Christian man that helped mom form a new family so that when she lost her mother to leukemia and her close friend to a tragic car accident, she was not without family. Yet, since her immediate family was all gone, a few years ago she tried to search out her biological family, but she never did find her birth mother, something that she accepted gracefully.
Mom and I shared a special bond over our mutual love for horses. She was a busy working mother while I was growing up, but she set time aside at least once a week to bring me to my horseback riding lessons, admittedly living vicariously through me a lot of the time. After the death of my grandmother Nina and her mother, our relationship was strained for a while due to my rebellion as a teenager. Through a lot of prayer, she got her loving daughter back and we shared a unifying belief in Jesus and the Bible that strengthened our bond. Our relationship over the years has become irreplaceable to me, this is a profound loss, but my mom’s example beckons me to be strong like she was.
My mom’s sorrow and grief was always a part of her, but over the years we could see joy returning more and more. Because she endured great loss and tragedy she became a remarkably strong and wise woman with a rock solid faith. Through the loss of her adopted family, mom inherited the beautiful farm where her father had been born and together with my dad made it even more beautiful, preserving the best parts and adding beauty wherever they could. They had many adventures because of the farm and were always dreaming together about making it better. It was a joy for us to aid them in their work on the family farm and they certainly taught us to dream big dreams.
A few days before her passing I pushed her to talk when she really was not feeling well enough to, but I selfishly needed her to let me know she was okay. I said “aren’t you angry at God for allowing you to suffer so much, and for not healing you?” She looked me in the eye and said she had known from a young age that God loved her and was holding her in his arms. I wish I wrote down everything she said but I did get some things written down. For Dad she said “I’d never dreamed I’d have it so good, he’s just one super nice guy.” For us kids she said “Love God as much as you can, heart, soul, and mind” and “I’ve loved every minute of you.” For the rest of us she wanted us to know that “God fills in the grace where we lack, we don’t get through things without God’s grace, we go around, we go under, we go over, but we don’t get through it without God’s grace.”
Some verses that reminded me of my mom and her faith journey are:
1 Peter 5:10 – And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
I love you mom and will miss you always!
Ardelle Peters Tribute – Tim Cimbura, Son-in-Law
You saw Ardelle’s photography at the beginning. Ardelle loved seeing the beauty in life. Much of it she saw around her at the family farm. Ardelle had some special decorations for every season and holiday…a continual celebration of life! When you were invited to Ardelle’s table, you were at a banquet…a feast. You knew you were special because of how she made you feel. Thanksgiving and Christmas showed amazing spreads of bountiful food. She would make so many incredibly delicious dishes that you can have just ONE bite of each and not have room for anything more. Orange fluff was a family favorite.
One year ago Ardelle and Dan went on a Disney Cruise with us. Ardelle said she had never felt so special at a table as when the ship crew served her like royalty.
Some of the many lessons we learned from Ardelle:
- Always be up for an adventure. – Go on a trip and make memories. When proposing a new trip, we knew Ardelle would say yes. Then she would go about convincing Dan to go.
- Learn continuously. – Ardelle was curious about everything. Her greatest interests were: Faith and God, Family, Decorating, Animals, Gardening, Music, and Nursing. She wasn’t afraid of the digital world and computers. I even got her using 1Password!
- See and create beauty in the world. – Ardelle is the reason why we have 400 boxes of Christmas decorations stored in our garage.
- Invest in new experiences – Take dancing lessons. Drive a team of percherons horses with a sleigh. Two years ago at Christmas our family project was to sing one of her favorite Christmas carols “O Holy Night” at the local church.
- Don’t worry – She said “If you’re born to be shot, you’ll never be hung. There’s hope until you’re dead and once you’re dead you don’t need hope.” – She was pretty blunt sometimes.
- Any day you can put your feet on the ground is a good day. – On tough days just go put your bra and lipstick on and get going. (That works better for the girls in the family.)
- Have patience. – She said “Take the time it takes and it will take less time.”
- To gain wisdom, listen to faith building teachers. – She would watch Eagle Brook church now in Rochester, Andy Stanley from Northpoint in Atlanta, and Dennis Prager for hours…and she was also a fan of Disney Plus watching childhood family movies!
- “The only way out is through. To see God’s grace you need to go through the center of it.”
Impact and mentor people for the good in the world. – Ardelle cared for the lives of about 10,000 baby children. Beyond that there were many more horses, dogs, cows, and kittens. - Live without regret.
- It’s never too late to reinvent yourself.
The stereotype is that you’re not supposed to like your mother-in-law. Ardelle was just about the best mother-in-law a guy could have. I have so much honor and respect for her. We could talk about anything as a family. Nothing was taboo. Sometimes, I even agreed with Ardelle more than Brenda…and Ardelle would secretly help me to convince her of my point.
For me, the best thing that Ardelle ever did was to birth and raise an amazing daughter in Brenda. I benefited greatly. The worst thing she ever did was leave this earth too soon. We will miss her so much.
Ardelle Peters Tribute – Brenda Cimbura, Daughter
My mother was so many things, to so many people. Many of you have told me how much her care and wisdom changed your lives. I agree. Some of you knew her as a nurse, a musician, a horse lover…but I knew her as my mom and my best friend.
Our childhood was filled with learning, play, and time with mom. She smelled like coffee…she needed lots of it to keep up with the three of us kids. There were sandboxes, swing sets, playhouses, and doll clothes made by her capable hands. If it was furry we had it…puppies, kittens, bunnies and horses. My mom taught us how to sing, play instruments, and be in front of people.
When I was nine, we moved to Rapid City, South Dakota and a new school. I was failing at school. One day my teacher stood me up in front of the class as an example and showed the class the big “F” on my test. This teacher told the class that I was not a hard worker and that I would never amount to anything because I wasn’t smart.
Something in me broke, and I bolted out the door into the prairie land behind the school. Even rattlesnakes seemed better than that teacher. I waited in hiding until I eventually heard the voice of my mom calling for me. I ran to her and told her what happened. She made a pact to me that if I would promise to learn to read she would homeschool me. Five minutes later, she very vocally withdrew both my brother and me from that school and we began homeschooling.
My mom believed I was capable. She read a Christian pioneer romance book to me and stopped halfway. She said, “If you want to know how it ends, you need to learn to read on your own.” That’s all it took. In the span of one year, I read 250 books. My mom’s intervention set the stage for my sense of capability, love of learning, and eventually earning my doctorate.
By the time I was 18, we had lived in 15 different homes. Mom made sure that every home space was creative, calm, and cozy with special themed bedrooms like Raggedy Ann & Andy, Snoopy, butterflies or roses.
Mom was always willing to sit and talk and connect with us kids, even into the late hours after working second shift. Talking with her made the world feel less intimidating.
My mom wanted a bigger family – so when Miki Lu, Tim, Jason, and then grand kids entered our life, nothing could have made her happier.
Tim and I got engaged after only 2 weeks of dating. The first time Tim met mom we were planning our wedding and she knew we were right for each other partly because he owned 3 tuxedos! (Ari and Bri…take note…this timeframe will not work for you.) My dad and mom made our wildest wedding dreams come true in 120 days, and she loved every minute.
My mom helped me find the courage to move on when we lost our first baby. Later when we found out we were expecting again, I forged a lavish birth plan complete with special relaxing music and plenty of anesthesia. That plan went out the window as Arianna came into the world in an emergency 15 minute birth…but mom got to the hospital just in time. At one point, I cried out, “I can’t do it!“ She told me, “You’re not dying. If you can feel pain, you are still alive. You’ll get through it.” Mom recorded all of our daughters vitals signs and held her before I did. The only reason Bri is here because mom assured her birth would be different.
Over the past few years, our family has been through many storms. My dad’s carbon monoxide poisoning, esophageal cancer, and gangrene gallbladder with 16+ surgeries. My mom was a force of advocacy, care, and encouragement for dad.
Then she got her own cancer diagnosis. Every day, I spoke and prayed with my mom for up to 8 hours…analyzing this life changing information. Our plan was, “Do the next right thing and trust God with the rest.” These conversations took place in my sunroom either in person or on the phone. On my table sat this white anchor, and on my wall was this word art “Hope is an anchor” from Hebrew 6:19.
After radiation, mom felt better so we put our fear behind us and started living with greater intention. Mom was up for the adventure and we lived fearlessly going on several vacations. We spent our time talking, loving, and building memories together – like seeing the Boston Pops live or the candlelight processional at DisneyWorld. Exactly one year ago, my mom posed for this picture as we were saying “See ya Later” to Cabo San Lucas.
In June, cancer returned and mom started chemo. She lost her hair but found some amazing wigs that she loved. When baking one day, mom discovered by accident, that opening a hot oven door will melt said wig. She laughed about the possibility of shocking people if the wig flew off in the wind. My mom didn’t want cancer to define her life.
We had a sweet Christmas this year at the farm. We laughed a lot. Mom didn’t cook but she did decorate our family home one last time. One of her gifts to us.
When the cancer failed to respond to experimental treatments, hospice was the last option. We thought she might have several weeks to 3 months left…but she only had 3 days. Some of her last words echoed the scripture: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Luke 10:27
My mom’s life was an incredible example of how to overcome losses and setbacks through resilience. She taught us all how to live with faith, cling to hope, and lavishly love those around you. “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13”
My mom showed me that hope is something we can learn and grow. She demonstrated it by how she lived through the most difficult moments. For people of faith like Ardelle, hope not only helps us through the goals and functions of our physical lives, it helps us wrestle with the big questions, the unseen and unknown.
We decided shortly after her death that the scripture of hope as an anchor needed to be the theme for today. Then just a few days ago I found the navy blue sparkle dress that my mom wore the night she met my dad. What we had never noticed before was the anchor broach. It was as if she confirmed we were on the right track.
From the very beginning, my mom knew what anchored her spiritually. For nearly 47 years, my dad also served as an anchor for my mom in his steadfast love and faithfulness to her – throughout every storm.
Later as you leave today…we want to give you a small token as a way to remember the good life that Ardelle lived and her hope in God as an anchor.
The following message Shining Through by Andy Stanley from NorthPoint Church relates to the hope that Ardelle had through hardships.