Obituaries : Ole Pederson; 64-Year County Resident

Ole Pederson, a longtime Ventura County resident, died Monday at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura after a brief illness. He was 91.

Pederson, who was born July 4, 1904, in Hannaford, N. D., moved to Ventura County 64 years ago from Red Elm, S. D. Pederson had resided in the Ojai Valley for 55 years before moving to Ventura.

He had been a pipeline foreman for the gas company before retiring in 1970.

Pederson was a past president of the Sons of Norway and the Eagles Lodge of Ventura, a member of the First Lutheran Church in Ventura and was active in the former Oak View Little Theatre.

In addition, “he was a lifetime member of the Old Time Fiddlers Assn. and that was his pride and joy,” said his daughter, Bernice Smith of Oak View. “He played the fiddle, banjo, guitar, piano, organ and all kinds of instruments. He absolutely loved music. He was very musical since he was very young.”

Pederson was preceded in death by his wife, Stella, in 1991.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by daughters Shirley Calvey of Avon, Ohio, and Elaine Cudahy of San Jose; sons Robert Pederson of Palmer Lake, Colo., and Richard Pederson of Ojai; 19 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchildren, and nine great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the First Lutheran Church in Ventura, with the Rev. Rick Swanson officiating. Private burial services will be held at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura.

Memorial donations may be made to the Salvation Army.