Derek James Peldo
Derek James Peldo, 44, passed away unexpectedly on September 6, 2026.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at the Country Faith Church in Clearbrook, Minnesota with a visitation one hour prior. A gathering of friends and family will be held the evening prior at the church, Friday, September 11, 2026, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. with a prayer service starting at 7:30 p.m. Interment will be held at a later date. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Bagley assisted the family with arrangements.
Derek was born August 17, 1982, in Williston, North Dakota, to Ed and Monica (Betting) Peldo. His family moved to Ellendale, North Dakota, just before he began first grade.
Growing up, Derek enjoyed skateboarding but soon discovered what would become a lifelong passion: computers—the older, the better. He enjoyed working with his future brother-in-law, Kraig, at Trinity Bible College, where they set up computers for LAN parties and spent hours gaming together.
In 2000, Derek graduated from Ellendale High School. Later that summer, he confessed his love to Lisa Ellsworth. They began dating and were married June 6, 2002, in Ellendale. Derek loved Lisa’s son, Anthony, as his own and soon after made that bond official through adoption in January of 2003. Their second son, Evan, was born January 21, 2004.
During that time, Derek attended the University of Minnesota Crookston where he met his best friend, Jeremy Seibel. Their shared love of computers became the foundation of a friendship that lasted throughout Derek’s life.
In 2004, Derek and Lisa moved their family to Clearbrook, Minnesota, where they also found an extended family at Country Faith Church. In March 2009, Derek and Lisa experienced the heartbreaking loss of a baby through miscarriage, a child who was deeply loved and never forgotten.
Derek built his career in information technology, working for Clearwater County and Beltrami County before joining Beltrami Electric Cooperative in 2020. There, he was especially happy to once again work alongside Jeremy. He loved his job, his coworkers, and the life he had built there.
Computers were more than Derek’s career. Through his side business, Vintage Tech Rescue, he searched garage sales, landfills, online auctions, and anywhere else old computer equipment might be hiding. Their basement became quite the stockpile as he repaired old computers and found them new homes. More recently, he dove into 3D printing, creating everything from shoes and sunglasses to fantasy football trophies, gifts, work projects, and whatever random thing Lisa asked him to make. He loved solving problems, creating things, and sharing what he knew with others.
That same willingness to create and fix things extended far beyond computers. Derek was the kind of person you wanted around when there was a project to tackle. Whether it involved technology, building something, repairing something, or simply figuring out how to make an idea work, he was always willing to jump in and help. He brought not only his knowledge and creativity but also his patience, humor, and genuine desire to make things easier for the people he cared about. If Derek didn’t know how to do something, chances were he would figure it out—and probably find a way to make the project more fun along the way.
Some of his favorite people to help were his boys. Derek helped Anthony and Evan build their own computers from scratch and recently set up a Minecraft server for Evan and his friends. He also coached Anthony’s baseball teams in Bemidji for several years and spent countless hours wearing out the grass in the front yard practicing pitching with him. He loved baseball and loved sharing that passion with kids.
Derek’s other favorite pastime was simply spending time with his wife Lisa, including weekend trips to Bemidji to hit garage sales and hunt for deals. Derek was Lisa’s voice of reason and one of her greatest encouragers. When she doubted one of her woodworking projects or wanted to give up, he reminded her what she could do and encouraged her to keep going.
Derek also loved sitting outside in beautiful weather but dreaded the falling leaves that meant winter was coming. He was always cold. The thermostat was an ongoing battle with Lisa and the boys, and once the temperature dipped to around 80 degrees, the layers came out. He often dreamed of a tiny home somewhere south where he could finally be warm.
For Derek’s family, some of their best memories with Derek were made at the lake. He loved being there with family and friends, whether he was out kayaking, tubing on the water, joking around with the kids, or simply relaxing by the fire at the end of the day. The lake was a place where Derek could slow down, have fun, and enjoy being surrounded by the people he loved most. There was always plenty of laughter when Derek was around, and he had a way of turning even the simplest moments into memories. Those days on the water, nights around the fire, and time spent together will be treasured by his family for years to come.
Derek was incredibly smart, but what drew people to him was his personality. He was hilarious, happy, and genuinely loved people. He could always make people laugh and especially loved being a kid with his nieces, nephews, cousins, and their children. He never seemed to lose that ability to have fun, be silly, and make the people around him smile. He was someone you could count on when you needed help, but just as importantly, someone you wanted around when it was time to have fun.
Derek loved his family deeply. He taught, encouraged, created, fixed, laughed, and freely shared his knowledge with others. He was the person who showed up for a project, made people laugh at the lake, helped solve a problem, encouraged someone who needed it, and somehow made the time spent together better simply because he was there.
His life ended far too soon, leaving behind more computers to rescue, things to create, projects to finish, garage sales to find, days at the lake to enjoy, laughter to share, and, most of all, many more years his family expected to have with him.
The love, laughter, encouragement, knowledge, and joy Derek gave so freely will live on in his family, his friends, and the countless memories shared by everyone fortunate enough to have known him. While Derek’s family grieves having to say goodbye far too soon, they find comfort in their faith and in knowing that Derek is now in Heaven, reunited with the child they have carried in their hearts for so many years. He will be deeply missed and forever loved.
He was preceded in death by his unborn child, Sam; his stepfather, Fran Romsdal; grandparents Bob and Toni Betting and Ervin and Beverly Peldo; brother and sister-in-law, Kraig and Jennifer Buell; and aunts Peggy Betting and Cathryn Durheim.
He is survived by his loving wife, Lisa Peldo; his children Anthony and Evan Peldo; mother, Monica Romsdal; brother Joshua (Barbie) Peldo; sister Kayla Backman; Brother Joe Peldo; step sister, Kris Romsdal (Steve); step brother, Jeff Romsdal; in-laws Ted and Linda Ellsworth; brother-in-law, David Ellsworth; nieces and nephews: Brayton, Braddock, and Bella Peldo, Tarynn and Benson Backman, Ellie Peldo, Miranda and Annalyssa Crenshaw, Easton, Vaughn and Cecelia Romsdal; Jarod and Ryan Buell, Kati (Sevyn) Buell-Leombruno, and Lucy Buell-Brisco; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
Messages of condolence may be sent to ceasefuneralhome.com