A. Jeanine Pederson, 89
A. Jeanine Pederson, life-long Flathead Valley resident, died on April 5, 2023, at the age of 89. Jeanine was born on November 2, 1933, the daughter of Louis and Adelaide (Gilbertson) Jensen.
After living at Creston during grade school and Evergreen during high school, Jeanine married her high school sweetheart, Clyde, in 1953 and shared 68 years of married life until Clyde’s death in February of 2022. Jeanine was mostly a “city girl” and Clyde was a “country boy.” It wasn’t until Clyde’s folks bought a new ’49 Chevy that she agreed to go on their first date. They farmed together south of Creston, and they were partners in all respects in the farm operation. Jeanine kept the financial records, drove grain trucks, baled hay, ran the household, and kept their kids on track.
In addition to a career in farming with her husband, Jeanine also worked at the Equity Supply Company and the Kalispell Livestock Auction Company. She gave leadership to the auxiliary of the Creston Fire Department, was adept at crafts and sewing, enjoyed pinochle groups, cooked for hay hands, and was an incredible host.
Jeanine’s children remember how, when they volunteered her to drive to school events without asking her first, she always made herself available. She enjoyed extensive and gorgeous flower gardens and kept the house and outbuildings in pristine condition, a pastime that resulted in a farm magazine cover. Jeanine had lovely cursive writing, ballroom danced well, and multitasked farming, managing the household, ramrodding kids, and volunteering.
Jeanine is preceded in death by her husband, Clyde, her parents, a sister, Harriett Harbin, and a brother, Robert Jensen. Jeanine is survived by two children, Duane (Charlene) Pederson of Trumbull, Connecticut, and Bonnie Pederson of Kalispell. She loved four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
After farming, Jeanine and Clyde spent many winters in Yuma, Arizona. When they moved from the Creston farm, they lived near the Steel Bridge on Hwy 2, then Village Greens in Evergreen, and lastly at Buffalo Hills Terrace.
A celebration of the resurrection to eternal life will be held on Saturday, May 13 at 2 p.m., at Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Kalispell, with Rev. Scott Thompson officiating. Interment will be at Conrad Memorial Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials in Jeanine’s honor be made to Creston Fire Fighter’s Association (4498 Hwy 35, Kalispell, MT 59901), a 501(c)3. Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is serving the family.