WINTER HAVEN - Irene E. Petersen, 98, died of heart failure 1/23/09.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Jens P. Petersen, her parents, Agnes and James J. Beregi, Sr., four brothers and three sisters.  She is survived by one sister, Elizabeth McCleery of Alton, Illinois and a number of nephews and nieces in the United States and in Denmark.             She was born in Chicago, Illinois, but moved with her parents to Galesburg, Illinois, during World War I.  She finished 9 1/2 grades in school and graduated from Central Bible Institute (College) in Springfield, Missouri. In 1945 she married her husband, Jens P. Petersen, formerly of Denmark, who had served in World War II as a surgical tech.  She has lived through 18 Presidents (from William Howard Taft to Barack Obama).           Irene worked as a clerk at McClellan's and  J.C. Penney  and Division Manager at Kline's Department Store in Galesburg, Illinois.  She also worked for Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck (22 years) in Waukegan, Illinois.  She was active in her church in Illinois, where she was a Sunday School teacher, youth worker and a choir member.   Her hobby was china painting and ceramics, for which she won a number of prizes.  The Petersenʼs moved to Winter Haven in 1976, and became members of First Baptist Church of Winter Haven.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Winter Haven Christian School, 1700 Buckeye Loop Road NE, Winter Haven, FL 33881 or the Good Shepherd Hospice, 105 Arneson Avenue, Auburndale, FL  33823.  Mrs. Petersen has chosen a cremation at Oak Ridge Funeral Care with no services.