Meyer, Nellie Benson (1924-2019)

MEYER, TODD, BLACKFORD, HEITER, LUCE, RETTIG, SANCHEZ, ELLIS

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 9/9/2019 at 15:46:40

Nellie Benson Meyer
August 24, 1924 ~ May 21, 2019 (age 94)

Nellie Meyer, age 94, of Sioux Rapids, Iowa, died on Tuesday, May 21, 2019, at St. Luke’s Lutheran Home in Spencer, Iowa.

The youngest child of immigrants from Mosjen, Norway, Olaf and Marie Benson, Nellie was born on August 24, 1924, on a farm southeast of Sioux Rapids, Iowa, that continued to serve as her home for sixty-two years. Baptized and confirmed at the First Lutheran Church in Sioux Rapids, she graduated from Sioux Rapids High School in 1942. Then, on November 30, 1942, she married Donald Meyer of Marathon, Iowa, in a double wedding ceremony with another couple who remained lifelong friends. They had been married for one month short of sixty years when Don passed away in 2002. They were blessed with four children: Nancy, Donna, Allan, and Dennis.

Never idle, Nellie enjoyed her role as a homemaker and a mother, assisting Don with the farming operation. Generous with her cooking and baking, especially with work crews and at neighborhood and family gatherings, she would willingly cook up a storm. Proud of her Norwegian heritage, she continued making lefse and krumkake for Christmas throughout her life. Her Norwegian Hardanger embroidery pieces she created for her children and grandchildren have become treasured keepsakes. In addition to her embroidery work, she made quilts and afghans and crocheted runners and many other items, all by hand.

After farming for forty-three years, Don and Nellie moved to a home in Sioux Rapids in 1985. They continued to own the farm which became a century farm in 2011, an important milestone for Nellie. In town, they enjoyed playing cards, especially cribbage and 500, often starting the day with a round of cribbage after breakfast. Moreover, Nellie took part in card groups that played both in members’ homes and at the Tuesday Dinner Date in Sioux Rapids. An avid reader as well, she would devoure several books a week year after year. Those who knew Nellie know that she had a good sense of humor, strong opinions, and a spirited zest for life. She will be missed.

She is survived by her children: Nancy (Gail) Todd, of Holstein, Iowa. Donna Todd, of Spencer, Iowa, Allan (Sonja) Meyer, of Buckeye, Arizona, and Dennis (Bev) Meyer, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; her grandchildren: Brenda Blackford; Gina Heiter; Saree Luce; Adam, Andrew, Daniel, Lynn, and Scott Meyer; Mikayla Rettig; Becky Sanchez; Kerby, Kiley, and Kris Todd; a foster grandson, Mike Ellis; twenty-one great-grandchildren; three foster great-grandchildren; two foster great-grandchildren; ten nieces and nephews; and a sister-in-law, Violet Meyer.

Nellie was preceded in death by her husband, Don; her parents; her son-in-law, Eugene “Pete” Todd; her brother, Omar; and her sister, Grace, and their spouses; and her former daughter-in-law, Lois Meyer.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, May 28, 2019, at 10:30 a.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Sioux Rapids. Burial will follow in the Lone Tree Cemetery in Sioux Rapids. Visitation is scheduled for Monday, May 27, 2019, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Sliefert Funeral Home in Sioux Rapids. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Sioux Rapids is in charge of the arrangements.

Sliefert Funeral Homes, Sioux Rapids, Iowa. 2019.

Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by Lynn Diemer-Mathews.
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