Peder Bruvold

Peder J. “Pete” Bruvold, 91 of Wahpeton, North Dakota, passed away April 15, 2024, at Twin Town Villa in Breckenridge, Minnesota. Pete was born in Comertown, Montana, on April 20, 1932, to Peder and Mary Inga Bruvold. After his father’s death in 1933, Pete’s family moved to Kensington, Minnesota. He attended school in Kensington where he graduated in 1950. After graduation, he began working for Otter Tail Power Co.

In 1952, he was drafted into the Korean War and served in the United States Army for two years. He completed basic training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, then went onto attend Airborne School at Fort Benning in Georgia. While attending Airborne School, Pete had only completed three jumps before being shipped out to North Korea where he was a forward observer in the Seventh Infantry Division and fought at Chosin Reservoir and Pork Chop Hill. Pete was later Honorably Discharged as an E6, Staff Sergeant.

After his service, he returned to work for Otter Tail Power Co, as a journeyman lineman. During his sojourn with Otter Tail, he met his first wife Sally Amon from Crookston, Minnesota in 1955. They had three children, Sabrina, Reynold, and Peder. Sally died of breast cancer in 1960.

In 1963, he met and married Geraldine “Gerry” (Jensen) Westlund, who also worked for Otter Tail in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Gerry had two sons from a previous marriage, Roger and Wade. Pete adopted Roger and Wade and raised them as his own. The happy clan of five children lived in Fergus Falls. In 1965 they moved to Wahpeton to raise their children, and had another child, Brett, in 1966. In 1976 Gerry died of lung cancer.

In 1986, Pete married Emily Grinager, where together the two of them flourished. They traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. wintering for years in Green Valley, Arizona, after Pete’s retirement from Otter Tail in 1997.

All through his years at Otter Tail Power, Pete and his crew were the ones who went to work when the weather was bad knocking the power out. He never complained and the family knew that when there were no lights, Dad went to work. Returning with tales of knocking ice off lines to restore power to thousands and thousands of households in the tri-state area.

Pete was an outdoorsman and great hunter. He was known to hire Native guides in Canada to drop him in the wilderness and pick him up a week later at the same location. He taught his children survival skills and took them on many adventures. He lived a life of grit and tenacity and whenever he walked into a room, there was no question who was in charge. He was a slow-talking, thoughtful man and known to be able to fix anything. He loved football, basketball and baseball. He instilled in his children the spirit of adventure and told them to see the world.

Pete will be greatly missed by his children Roger (Betsy) Bruvold, Sabrina Chapman, Reynold Bruvold, Peder Bruvold, and Brett Bruvold, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and Emily’s daughters, Susan (Keith) Kissell, and Sandee Erikson.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Peder and Mary Bruvold, and siblings, Ernest, Woodrow, Hazel, Nan, Vicki, Mimi, Pearl, Yvonne, Emma, Janice, Reynold, Beatrice, and Mary Jean. His son, Wade Bruvold; his son-in-law, Russ Chapman, and his daughter-in-law, Gail Bruvold.

The family would like to thank everyone at Twin Town Villa and CHI Hospice for their gracious comfort and care.

A memorial service will be held Friday, April 19, 2024, at Vertin-Munson Funeral Home in Wahpeton at 11:00 a.m., with visitation one hour before the service.  Full military honors will be held at Fairview Cemetery after the service.  Arrangements have been entrusted to Vertin-Munson Funeral Home, Wahpeton.