Denise M. Peterson age 49, died on Thursday, June 13, 2013, at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD. Funeral services will be 1:30 p.m. Monday, June 17, 2013 at the First Presbyterian Church in Brookings, SD. Visitation will be from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday at the Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings. Denise M. Peterson was born on March 12, 1964, in Appleton, MN, the daughter of Dennis and Rita (Mellet) Rens. She received her education and graduated from the Lennox High School in 1982. She received her B.A. degree in 1985, her M.A. degree in 1988 and her E.D.D. in 1998, all from the University of South Dakota. Denise was united in marriage to John Peterson on September 8, 1990, in Lenox, SD. In 1997, they moved to Brookings, SD, where Denise was employed at South Dakota State University as assistant professor in leadership and group dynamics. She lived to teach. Denise always said, "If I have made an impact on at least one person, I know I have done something right." She is survived by her husband John of Brookings; her children Jessica and Brock; her parents Dennis and Rita Rens of Lennox, SD; three sisters Julie (Ron) Blair of West Palm Beach, FL, Lisa (Andy) Crumpton of Prosperity, SC, Melissa Rens of Lancaster, S.C.; and the students she encountered and other loved family and friends.