Rebecca Marie PEDERSON

1933 - 2017  (84 years)

• Name	Rebecca Marie PEDERSON
  Birth	6 Feb 1933	Otter Tail County, Minnesota
  Gender	Female
  Death	20 Feb 2017	Brown County, Wisconsin
  Notes	Reno and Rebecca and family lived in Hales Corners at the time that they adopted Thomas Lee. They lived in Arnold, Maryland, in April of 1956. She and Reno lived in Wausaukee after they got out of farming. In the fall of 1953, she was already married to Reno. At that time, she was a member of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, playing the cello. She graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1951 (she was class president), Cottey College (Missouri) in 1953, and North Dakota Agricultural College (now NDSU) in 1955 where her degree was in speech correction. According to a brief article in the November 18, 1966, edition of the FFDJ, the Kuehnels had adopted “four minority-race children to add to their family of three children.” From the Manitowoc Herald-Times, April 21, 1973, issue: Love is Multicolored Mother Tells Church Group Becky Kuehnel was guest speaker at the fifth annual Lenten breakfast Tuesday morning at Grace Congregational United Church of Christ, Two Rivers. Mrs. Kuehnel said she believes every child, of whatever nation or race, has the right to grow up with parents. She and her husband Reno Kuehnel, have nine children, three sons of their own, five legally adopted interracial children and another child's adoption is pending. They reside on an 80 acre farm near the Village of Osman. Kuehnel is an electrical engineer at Hamilton Manufacturing Co., Two Rivers. Her obit in the FFDJ: Rebecca (Becky) Marie Kuehnel was born Sunday, Feb. 6, 1933, at home, with a blizzard on the way, in Fergus Falls to Signe Margaret (Johnson) and Reuben Philip Pederson. She was preceded in death by an older sister, Marlene Toso, and is survived by younger sisters Doris Enderson and Kathryn Knudsen, and brothers Richard (Dickie) and Charles (Chuckie) Pederson. Becky met Reno (Skip) Walter Kuehnel Jr. during Christmas break of her second year at Cottey College. They married secretly the following spring, on April 4, 1953. It wasn’t until that fall that the newlyweds were able to begin living together, and then never parted until Skip passed away Dec. 20, 2012, just shy of their 60th anniversary. After the birth of their third son, Reno and Rebecca began adopting. Thirteen more uchildren would be welcomed into the family, raised with their parents’ love of learning and arts, their awareness of the needs of others, and a sense of duty to a human family that crosses racial, religious and ethnic divides. Any who met Becky can agree on this point, she was a warrior for her beliefs and a champion for her friends. Early on, she was voted class president, both in high school and at Cottey College, and her drive to help others led her to work with the Laubach Literacy program (“Each One Teach One”), become a charter member of MCEO, a civil rights organization in Milwaukee, a leader in the Migrant Ministry program for southeastern Wisconsin, in addition to hosting international students. On the farm, she cared for thousands of calves, and kept a 5-acre vegetable garden. Even in “retirement” she remained active, as a First Responder, a rest home Activities Aide, a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and an active participant in a variety of Church Councils and community organizations. But, perhaps the best thing that can be said about her is that she never met a stranger, and so many, even after only a single conversation, became her lifelong friend. Strong faith, boundless optimism, unwavering courage, generous spirit, and through it all, music – original songs, hymns, the chorus from a musical, lullabies — whatever the occasion, whatever the weight of the day, Becky always had a song flowing through it. For those of us who hear her voice, she will never be truly gone. Friends and family will gather for a celebration of her life at a service to be held April 1 at First Congregational Church, 310 Bluff Ave., Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The gathering will start at 2:30 p.m. to share stories and memories, with the service starting at 3 p.m., and all are welcome to stay for a meal to follow in the church hall. The family has honored Becky’s request for her body to be donated to the Medical College of Wisconsin for medical research. Memorials will be directed to organizations Becky requested on her behalf. On behalf of her children — Chris, Peter, David, Tom, John, Maria, Sam, Tory, Jean, Maurice, Fernando, Tyrone, Ho Chang, Adriano, Roberto, Caleb — grandchildren and great-grandchildren, we would also like to give a special thanks to all the people who stepped up to care for Becky with dignity and compassion: the staff at the Odd Fellow Home in Green Bay, Dr. Luke Warpinski, caregivers Tory Haney, Pam Mraz (Sheffer) and Shelly Stockwell.
  Person ID	I12285	Don Carlson's Tree
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2018

  
  

  Father	Reuben Philip PEDERSON,   b. 15 Aug 1905, Chippewa County, Wisconsin d. 11 Apr 1985, Otter Tail County, Minnesota (Age 79 years)
  Mother	Signe Margaret JOHNSON,   b. 22 Feb 1911, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota d. 17 Oct 2006, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota (Age 95 years)
  Marriage	16 Jun 1929	Otter Tail County, Minnesota
  Family ID	F2144	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Reno Walter KUEHNEL, Jr,   b. 17 Jun 1926, Wisconsin d. 20 Dec 2012, Wausaukee, Marinette County, Wisconsin (Age 86 years)
  Marriage	4 Apr 1953
  Family ID	F9210	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	15 Jul 2013