Peter Mark Lindberg

Peter Mark Lindberg, age 79, of Blue Earth, died Thursday, February 10, 2011 at St. Luke''s Lutheran Care Center in Blue Earth. Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, February 14, 2011 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Blue Earth. Visitation will be from 2:00 to 6:00 PM on Sunday at St. Luke''s Lutheran Care Center in Blue Earth. Patton Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the family with the arrangements. Web tributes may be left at www.pattonfh.com. Expressions of sympathy are preferred in the form of memorial donations to the Peter Lindberg Fellowship Fund 1200 Oak Knoll Court, Blue Earth, MN 56013; an educational fund for students exploring foreign languages. This was written by Pete in February 1996 just 2 weeks prior to suffering a debilitating stroke.Peter Mark Lindberg, was born in Hordville, Nebraska, on the morning of March 1, 1931, to Hortense Dorothy (Larson) Lindberg and Paul Martin Immanuel Lindberg. The time of birth was in the forenoon of a Sunday, thus necessitating one of the lay deacons taking over the church services because Rev. Paul Lindberg''s place at this time was by his wife''s bedside. In 1935, Peter, or Mark as he was called by family, moved to Wahoo, Nebraska with his family where Paul Lindberg was called to be the president of "Luther Junior College Academy". The family moved to St.Paul, Minnesota in 1941 where Peter attended public grade school and upon reaching grade nine enrolled in Minnihaha Academy, Minneapolis. In 1945, the family moved to Rock Island, Illinois. Dr. Paul Lindberg became a member of the faculty at the Augustana Seminary. Peter attended the local public high school, enrolled in grade ten. Peter then attended Luther College in Wahoo for his junior and senior years of academy. During the school year of 1949-1950, Peter took a break from education and worked in the office of the Lutheran World Federation, in Frankfurt, Germany. He had accompanied his family to Germany where his father had been called to a two year position as Senior Field Representative of the Lutheran World Federation in Germany. It was at this time Peter began to develop a language skill in German. He returned to the United Stated in time to start his freshman college year at Luther College. After his sophomore year he transferred to Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Here he completed his last two years of college, graduating with a degree in German. On January 29, 1954, one quarter before graduating, Peter married Maria Sophia Kuehner. During the summer of 1954 he joined the U S Air Force for a four year tour of duty. A twelve week basic training course was completed at the Sampson Air Force Base near Lake Genevia, New York. From there, Pete was transferred to Wichita Falls, Texas for specialized training in the field of military intelligence. On completing the course he was sent, because of his proficiency in German, to a tour of duty in Germany where he was stationed in Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich. His wife and young daughter, Lisa Marie, joined him after a few months and the family lived out the rest of the tour of duty in a rented house in the suburbs of Munich. While living in that house, Maria gave birth to Paul Michael. Upon returning to the U S and being mustered out of the service, Peter, with his wife and two children, moved to the Lake Minnetonka area of Minneapolis where he attended the University of Minnesota and Peter worked on his education credits for both undergraduate and graduate credits. Upon being granted a Minnesota Teaching Certificate he applied for and obtained a job as a German teacher in the Blue Earth High School, Blue Earth, Minnesota. Here he taught German, as well as Social Studies and Drivers'' Training. In 1968, Peter was granted his Master''s Degree through the University of Minnesota in the field of Foreign Language Education. In the subsequent years Peter and Maria were blessed with three more children, Conrad Peter, Sarah Luise, and Hanns Olaf. Peter continued teaching at Blue Earth until 1993 when he resigned his position and went into retirement. He continued enjoying work on his small hobby farm on the edge of Blue Earth, and together with Maria enjoyed traveling in Europe, where they had many friends, as well as around the U S where they visited children, grandchildren, friends and relatives. His family and close friends will also remember him for his love of the outdoors, music, appreciation for experiencing different cultures in Europe, his mischievous sense of humor and hard work ethic.