Nielsen, Heleen (1917-2013)

NIELSEN, MORTENSEN, BARTACHEK, PACE, WEBER

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 1/30/2013 at 14:26:43

Heleen Nielsen
June 18, 1917 - January 13, 2013

Storm Lake, Iowa

Heleen Nielsen, age 95, of Storm Lake, Iowa, died Sunday, January 13, 2013, at the Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake.

Heleen Nielsen was born on June 18, 1917, in Elk Horn, Iowa, the daughter of Hilmar and Marie (Mortensen) Nielsen.

In her teens, Heleen attended Elk Horn High School. Following her graduation in 1934, she attended the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1952. She, then, continued her education at the University of Colorado in Greeley, Colorado, earning a Master’s Degree in 1958.

Heleen taught school for forty-four years. She spent most of that time teaching kindergarten at West School in Storm Lake. She also taught in Audubon County, Kimballton, Harlan and Waterloo. She retired in 1980.

Heleen’s special interests included her family, music, church, friendships, playing cards, reading, and five year olds. She wrote a book, “Were You Here Tomorrow,” a timeless collection of kindergarten wisdom, anecdotes from the lives of the kindergarten children that she had taught. Heleen became a church organist at the age of twelve and continued as long as she could. She began playing at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Storm Lake in 1954 and delighted in playing the instrument.

A member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Heleen took part in the Sarah Circle as the organist of the small group. She also was a member of Dollars for Scholars, Friends of the Library, P.E.O. Chapter J.D., the Delphiam Study Club, the National Education Association, and the Witter Gallery Auxiliary. A life member of the Iowa State Education Association and the Buena Vista County Hospital Auxiliary, she also belonged to the Storm Lake High School Crescendo Club, the National Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, the Okoboji Bible Camp, and the Scandinavian Society in Buena Vista County.

Those left to cherish her memory include her sister-in-law, Barbara Nielsen, of Chicago, Illinois; her nieces and nephews: Steven (Phyllis) Nielsen, of Ripon, Wisconsin, Terry (Patricia) Nielsen, of Chicago, Illinois, Devin Nielsen, of St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Pamela (Gary) Bartachek, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cathy (Wendell) Pace, of Dallas, Texas, Lonnie (Mary Jo) Nielsen, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and Loree (John) Weber, of Spring Hills, Florida; fifteen great nieces and nephews; thirteen great-great-nieces and nephews; and a life-long friend, Wanda Sievers; as well as many other friends.

Heleen was preceded in death by her parents, Hilmar and Marie Nielsen; her brothers, Orval and Paul Nielsen; and her sister-in-law, Helen Nielsen.

Visitation: 9:30 a.m. til the time of the service, January 17, 2013, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Funeral Service: 10:30 a.m., January 17, 2013, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Interment: 3:30 p.m., January 17, 2013, at Elk Horn Cemetery in Elk Horn, Iowa.

Copyright © 2013, Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes

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