Darlene J. Petitt, age 81, of Sheldon, Iowa passed away on Friday, August 8, 2014 at the Sanford Sheldon Senior Care in Sheldon, Iowa. The funeral service will be 2:00 P.M. Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sheldon with Rev. Craig Nissen ~ officiating.
Burial will be in the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery in Sheldon. Visitation will be after 3:00pm on Monday, August 11, 2014, with the family present from 5:00 – 7:00pm at the Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon. Online memorial condolences may be sent to: vanderploegfunerals.com.
Arrangements under the care of Vander Ploeg Funeral Home, Sheldon, Iowa.
Darlene June Petitt, the daughter of Walter and Carrie (Hagedorn) Walstrom was born on June 20, 1933 on a farm near Royal, Iowa in Clay County. She was a graduate of the Greenville Rossie High School. Darlene worked as a secretary for 25 years for the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa. On June 8, 1974, she was united in marriage to Grover “Bud” C. Petitt in Royal, Iowa and the couple made their home in Sheldon, Iowa. Darlene was the Chamber Director for the Sheldon Chamber and Development Corp. for 10 years before she retired in 1991. She moved to Sanford Senior Care in Sheldon in the spring of 2014 where she passed away on August 8, 2014 reaching the age of 81 years, 1 month and 19 days.
While living near Royal she was an active member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and served as the organist and choir director for 23 years. Upon moving to Sheldon, where she became a member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church, she also served as the churches organist and choir director for many years, was a member of the Ladies Aid and was the contact person for the Ladies Work Group for many years. She also enjoyed singing.
Left to cherish her memory is her husband of 40 years, G.C. “Bud” Petitt; and his 4 sons and their spouses, Gary and Donna Petitt of Sheldon, IA; Ed and Rhonda Petitt of Boyden, IA; Scott and Natasha Petitt of Sutherland, IA; Keith and Tiffany Petitt of Sheldon, IA; 11 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 2 sisters, Charlotte Peterson and Marjorie Frad both of Spencer, IA; two sisters-in-law, Beverly Walstrom of Sioux City, IA and Eleanor McDuffy of Des Moines, IA; and a brother-in-law and his wife, Paul and Mitzi Petitt of Gillette, WY; also other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Vernard and Virgil Walstrom.
