Berenice Peterson

A brief history of Berenice Peterson Lange Anderson (1896-1964), daughter of Gustav Hjalmer Malstedt Peterson and Karen or Carrie Hansen, wife of Hans Friedrich Karl Lange, mother of Helen Carrie Lange Amundsen, John Marvin Lange, and Ruth Irene Lange Smith. The history appears to have been written by Berenice's daughter Helen. Curiously, the history does not mention Berenice's divorce from Hans Lange and her second marriage on April 7, 1941, to Joseph Andrew Anderson. Claudia, daughter of J. Marvin Lange, always heard this grandmother referred to as "Grandma A."

"Yours may be a little dream, a little idea, a little good work in some obscure place, unknown, unseen, unheard as yet.

"Hold fast to the dream, develop the idea, keep up the good work. Keep your little light shining and remember that there is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle."

So is the life of Berenice Peterson—for from the time of her birth to Gustav Hjalmer Molstedt Peterson and Karen Hansen on 15 October 1896 until her death on 4 September 1964 the candle of her faith in the Lord and His work never was dimmed, and she endeavored all of her days to let this candle shine as a guide to those around her.

She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father was a contractor and builder. At times he made good money, but he also enjoyed drinking liquor—consequently his wife had to do housework for others to help support the family. Berenice was the only daughter born to Gustav and Karen. They had four sons, and Berenice was the fourth child of the five children.

Gustav was born in Sweden. His parents came to Utah because of the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His mother and father were later divorced, and his mother remarried Jens Christian Peterson in the Endowment House. Though Gustav had been baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he later apostatized and was not affiliated with any religion—though he favored the teachings of Swedenborg in his later years.

Karen was of Danish ancestry, and unlike her husband, remained faithful to the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In her early years Berenice must have been protected by a guardian angel, for on several occasions she was extremely close to disaster. One time she and her girl friend were playing house on the hillside. Berenice had received a real stove for Christmas, and the girls had built a fire in it. While playing, Berenice's dress caught fire, and instead of rolling in the dirt to smother the flames, Berenice ran down the hill to her brothers. It is a miracle she was not severely burned.

Another time the handle of an ax in use came off, and the ax flew in her direction, missing her only by the breadth of a hair.

Another time, when she was only a toddler, she fell into the irrigation ditch and was unnoticed for some time.

Her life must have been guarded so that she could teach the gospel and bear testimony of God's plan of salvation. Though Berenice was never called on a full-time mission, she taught Sunday School, Primary, and Mutual and served as a stake missionary in the Emigration Stake. She had been Mutual president in the Great Falls Branch in Montana, Relief Society president in the Twentieth Ward in Salt Lake City, and in the Primary presidency in the Emigration Ward. Near the end of her life, she was secretary to the genealogical committee of the Marlborough Ward in Salt Lake. Her faith and testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Lord has been acknowledged by many. She was a pillar of strength.

Her life had not been an easy one. From the time she was sixteen, until two years before her death, it was necessary for her to earn a living for herself and others.

She married Hans or Johannes Frederick Carl Lange 30 August 1922 in the Salt Lake Temple. They had three children—two girls and a boy. She had wanted to be at home with her children, but this was not to be her privilege, for not long after her marriage it became evident that her husband suffered shell-shock from the First World War, and he was unable to take care of his family. Berenice had to care for her family and provide guidance and the monetary support as well. Her mother helped her while the children were young, and this made it easier for Berenice to leave them each day.

After the family returned from Great Falls, Montana, Berenice found work at the LDS Hospital as a telephone operator on the night shift. This eventually worked into the auditor for all the bookkeeping at the hospital. She also kept books for the LDS Children's Hospital and for Capson-Bowman and Richards-Woodbury realty companies.

Berenice was very active in sports while she was still in school. She played on the championship teams for both the Salt Lake City basketball and baseball. She won first place in the 20-yard dash and the relay races, Drama was also one of her talents, and she took the lead in one of the University of Utah Preparation School's dramas—also several Church plays. She took first place in one of the U of U Prep School's oratory contests. She enjoyed reading both poetry and prose and felt life was too short to waste time on anything of a degrading nature. She continually tried to better herself and those around her by building character and gaining knowledge—the glory of God is intelligence.

She died of cancer 4 September 1964—still full of faith that if the Lord wanted her to live that she would be made well. Her faith in the Lord and His power were the greatest memories I have of her life.

Shortly after her death, while I was walking on the Tabernacle grounds, a woman approached me and asked me if I was Berenice Peterson's daughter. I answered yes, and she indicated that my mother had taught her during her years in Mutual. Because of my mother's teachings, her testimony grew and also her understanding of the gospel. She appreciated my mother, and I appreciated her comments about my mother.