James "Jim" Pederson Obituary

Jim Pederson died February 23rd, 2026 at Sanford Medical Center from complications of multiple strokes.

James Floyd Pederson was born on April 12th, 1951 to Hjalmer Pederson and Cornelia Mark Pederson at Wright Hospital in Fergus Falls. Jim always said his childhood on the farm in Underwood, Minnesota was perfect; helping his dad with the farm, hunting with his dog Duke, and hitting rocks with a stick into the slough. He went on to excel in sports in high school, lettering in football, basketball, and baseball. After high school he attended college at Fergus Falls, Brainerd and MSUM playing baseball and bartending at The Lamplighter Lounge in Moorhead. Following college he took a position with Somody Supply, a health and beauty aids distributor based in Willmar MN, where he started as a route salesman and ended as President of Sales and Marketing. When he left Somody Supply, he began a long and fulfilling career in real estate, starting in commercial sales at Park Co. Realtors in 1994. While at Park Company he began modeling clothing for Scheels All Sports and appeared in many of their newspaper ads. Jim decided to get his broker’s license and The Real Estate Exchange was born. He began buying rental properties and enjoyed managing them tremendously. Jim loved real estate because he enjoyed interacting with people and found tremendous satisfaction in helping them find the perfect home. He was an avid golfer and in 2010 fulfilled his dream of owning a winter home on a golf course in Goodyear, AZ with his wife Susan. He enjoyed long walks and longer telephone conversations with friends and family.

Jim was a man who made friends for life, provided unwavering support for his children, was a devoted son and brother, and a caring husband. He often said to friends and family “The time for living is now”. His humor and wisdom will be sorely missed by all who were lucky enough to know him.

Jim is survived by his wife Susan, children Elizabeth Fleming and Zachary Pederson, step-son Sean Calhoun (Sandra), brother Mark Pederson (Kati), sister Marilou Pederson, and six grandchildren. A Celebration of Life will be held in early summer when the courses are green.

In lieu of flowers, Jim’s family requests that donations be made in his memory to The Riverside Cemetary Tree Fund, 2102 5th Street South, Fargo North Dakota 58103, where he walked and reflected on life almost every day.