Milan “Pete” Petras

Milan “Pete” Petras, 92, of Humboldt, passed away December 7, 2009 at the Humboldt County Memorial Hospital. Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Friday at the Faith United Methodist Church in Humboldt with the Rev. Walden Paige officiating. Interment will be in Union Cemetery, Humboldt with full military rites by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5240 and American Legion Post 119. Visitation is from 10-11 a.m. Friday at the church.
Mr. Petras is survived by his wife, Lucille of Humboldt; daughters, Joan (Edward) Rudd of Storm Lake, Donna (John) Lauritsen of LeClaire, and Paula (Robert) Zuhlsdorf of Edina, MN; 8 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; brother, Daniel Petras of Eagle River, WI; and sister, Esther Petras of Eagle River, WI. He was preceded in death by his parents, and brother Jerry Petras.
Milan Petras, the son of Sebastian and Susan (Djeska) Petras, was born July 9, 1917 at Chicago, Illinois. He served during World War II in the United States military until his honorable discharge. He returned home and was united in marriage to Lucille Fritzsche on July 27, 1946. Following their marriage, Milan attended the University of Illinois at Urbana and received his Vocational Agriculture Degree. Milan spent three years in a teaching position at Waukon before moving to Humboldt where he served the Humboldt Community School District for 29 years.
Milan was a member of the Faith United Methodist Church where he served on various committees, taught Sunday School, and was active in the choir. Community minded and dedicated to his profession, Milan took great pride in building an FFA program that aggressively participated in community improvement projects that can still be seen today. He was also a member of the Community Chorus in the early years. Most of all, Milan cherished time spent with his family and up until three years ago, he and Lucille planned annual vacations to the boundary waters with their family.