John Carroll Pederson (1928-2025), a self-taught artist from Hillsboro, North Dakota, was a man whose life revolved around his passions for drawing and painting. From a young age, he was deeply inspired by the "homespun American life" depicted on Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post covers. This admiration led to a defining moment in his life: a pilgrimage to Rockwell's home in Massachusetts, where he was welcomed as a guest and learned from the famous artist. John considered this week a high point of his life.

John's career was a tapestry of artistic pursuits. After serving in the Army, where he did some illustration work, he spent 15 years at Dakota Photo Engraving Co. in Fargo. He also applied his artistic skills to commercial work, painting billboard signs along I-29 and creating logos and nameplates for local newspapers. Around 1971, he began making a living as a full-time painter and taught adult education classes in Hillsboro. His fine art subjects were diverse, ranging from Abraham Lincoln and old comedians to airplanes and local Red River Valley landscapes.