Luke Pedersen

A Memorial Service celebrating the life of Luke F. Pedersen, 45, of Minneapolis will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, September 1, 2018 at First Lutheran Church in Sauk Centre, MN with Rev. Mike Carlson officiating. Luke passed away August 23, 2018 at Hennepin County Medical Center with his family at his side.

A Gathering of Family and Friends will be held from 4-7 p.m., Friday, August 31, at Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Sauk Centre and from 10-11 a.m. Saturday, September 1, at First Lutheran Church in Sauk Centre.

Luke Frederick Pedersen was born September 19, 1972 in Devils Lake, ND, the seventh child of Rev. James Kenneth and JoAnn (Fossen) Pedersen. He was baptized as an infant and became a child of God and later confirmed his faith. At the age of 5, Luke was diagnosed with Facial Scapula Humeral Muscular Dystrophy; however, this disease did not stop him from participating in everything he loved. He lived in Starkweather, ND until age 3, then moved to Northwood, ND and attended school through the 8th grade. After his 7th grade year, Luke began to use a wheelchair. Like his siblings, he took piano lessons and played in many recitals during his elementary years. He attended high school in St. Peter, MN graduating in 1991. Throughout high school, Luke was an Honor Roll student, member of the National Honor Society, and student manager for the boys' football and basketball teams. He developed his love and passion for electric wheelchair floor hockey at that time. Following high school, Luke attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. He earned his degree in Mass Communications in 1995. While in college, Luke was a sports writer for the student newspaper, The Concordian.

Luke had a love for sports. In his very young years, he would shoot baskets into the official basketball hoop and made them with little difficulty. He enjoyed playing football and running with his oldest nieces and nephews. As he grew up, he was an avid sports video gamer and throughout his adulthood, he could still play and win against his nephews and nieces. He enjoyed Fantasy Football league, watching sports, especially Minnesota Vikings, Twins baseball, and FIFA Soccer.

Out of a shared passion for electric wheelchair hockey, Luke and several friends founded the USEWHA - United States Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association. He worked countless hours organizing tournaments in the United States and kept the statistics for his team. He truly enjoyed playing floor hockey with the Minnesota Stars team and was able to travel and play throughout the United States as well as Germany, Toronto and Calgary, Canada.

Luke enjoyed living in Minneapolis where he was close to all the stadiums. He enjoyed living in his apartment and was honored to have several of his nephews as well as other dedicated PCAs caring for him. Keeping in touch with family activities was an important daily task.

He will be deeply missed by his mother, JoAnn Pedersen of Sauk Centre; siblings, Steve (Cheryl) Pedersen of Nisswa, MN, Naomi (Stuart) Reed of Scobey, MT, Ruth (Jon) Ahrndt of Benson, MN, Julie Bilden of Hauula, HI, Timothy (Joanne) Pedersen of Watford City, ND, and Rachel (Gregg) Gerhartz of Pequot Lakes, MN; Kurdish sister, Sureya Sayadi of Reno, NV; 16 nieces and nephews; 16 great nieces and nephews and another expected very soon; other relatives and many friends.

Luke was preceded in death by his father, Rev. James K. Pedersen on January 30, 1997.