Catherine Mary (Beal) Pederson

There will be a memorial service on Saturday, October 8, 2022, at 1:30 pm at Anderson-TeBeest Funeral Home in Montevideo, MN. A burial ceremony will immediately follow at Sunset Memorial Cemetery. After the burial the family invites you for fellowship and food at Topper's Warehouse located at 311 State Road in Montevideo, MN.

On May 20, 2022, Cathy Pederson peacefully passed away in Lincoln, NE, after a short illness. She was born on her grandparent’s farm in the Kragero Township of Chippewa County, Minnesota, on January 22, 1934. Her parents were Bernie and Elizabeth Beal. She graduated from Montevideo High School in 1951 where she participated in choir and was the secretary-treasurer her sophomore, junior, and senior years. She was the first sophomore elected as the 1948 Monte Day Queen.

In 1952 she was honored to be named 1953 Fiesta Days Queen in Montevideo. She was a special guest at the Fiesta Days in Montevideo, Uruguay, where she attended many events like parades, soccer games, and parties during her visit to South America. She said her best memory during this trip was how much love the Uruguayans showed to her.

Upon her return she attended St. Cloud Teachers College and graduated from the Minnesota School of Business in 1954. During her school years she worked as a switchboard operator for Northwestern Bell, and was a reporter at the Montevideo American-News for the summer. On February 21, 1954, she married Carroll Pederson in a small ceremony in Montevideo and moved to the Minneapolis area. The couple had three children Larry, Bob, and Mary Kay in this area before Carroll’s work moved them to the states of California, Iowa, and Nebraska.

Cathy’s favorite hobby was making quilts. She loved to shop for fabric and had accumulated a large supply of material through the years and also loved to design and sew the quilts.

Cathy is preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Chandler Beal. She is survived by her brother, Brad (Sherrie) Beal from Minneapolis, her children, Larry (Debbie) Pederson, Bob (Barbie) Pederson, of Lincoln, NE, and Mary Kay Judt, (Pat), of Cameron Park, CA; and her grandchildren, Christopher (Katy) Pederson of Litchfield, IL, Emily Buchholz (Steve) and Andy (Courtney) Pederson of Lincoln, NE. She is also survived by her three nieces: Peggy, Cindy, and Lisa Beal from California.