Lorraine I. Peterson, age 99, died on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at her home in Fall River. She was born in Mazomanie on August 8, 1926, to Laura and Gerhard Wachter. She was married to Lester Persinger of Muscoda and widowed in 1955. She married Edwin "Pete" Peterson on February 8, 1958, in Madison.

Lorraine met Pete at Oscar Mayer in Madison, where they both worked on the meat-packing line. She retired from Oscar Mayer in 1984 and spent her retirement in Fall River, a community she loved.

She was beloved by family and friends for her sense of humor, adventurous spirit and zest for life. She was a proud Wisconsinite, but she also loved to travel, visiting places from Phoenix to Cabo San Lucas to New Orleans with her daughters. Her reliance on a walker or wheelchair in recent years did not keep her from making annual visits to Alabama to visit her daughter and son-in-law. Say the word "shopping" and she would beat you to the car. And she allowed nothing to interfere with her Tuesday afternoon visits to her local bar where she made many friends and enjoyed a Bud Light, or two.

Lorraine was a decades-long member of Bristol Lutheran Church, Town of Bristol. She will be sadly missed by her three daughters, Karen (Dan Sr.) Weinberger of Fall River, JoAnn McBurney of Fall River, Linda (Jim) Longton of Loxley, Ala., six grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, 11 great-great grandchildren, brother Jim Wachter, sister Mary Wachter, and other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband "Pete" in 1997, brothers Bob, Frank and Jerry Wachter and sisters Elizabeth Vaughan, Lillian Nesvacil and Geraldine Anderson.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M., with visitation beginning at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, November 22, 2025, at BRISTOL LUTHERAN CHURCH, Town of Bristol. Rev. Tim Knipfer will officiate. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held from 4:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. on Friday, November 21, 2025, at Jensen Funeral & Cremation, Columbus.

We encourage you to share your online condolences with Lorraine's family at jensenfuneralandcremation.com