NELSON, Joy Jeanette 1929 - 2017

NELSON, HARRINGTON, BROWN, JESSE, LATHAM, HEESCH

Posted By: Pat Ludeke (email)
Date: 10/26/2017 at 08:59:34

Joy Jeanette (Harrington) Nelson, 88 of Clear Lake, formerly of Mason City, died Monday, May 8, 2017, at Rockwell Community Nursing Home in Rockwell.

Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, May 12, 2017, at Evangelical Free Church, 1310 Hwy 18 W., Clear Lake, with Pastor Dan Jordan officiating. Following a luncheon, burial will be at Britt Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday, May 11, 2017, at Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. 4th St., Clear Lake.

Family suggests memorial contributions to the Joy Nelson Memorial Fund.

Joy was born March 3, 1929, the daughter of George William and Bertha Josephine (Brown) Jesse in Britt on her grandma’s farm. She married Robert W. Harrington in 1950 and later married Donald James Nelson on January 19, 1991 in Clear Lake.

A graduate of Titonka High School, Joy attended Hamilton College. She worked as a bookkeeper most of her life at Hart Motors in Mason City, Vic & Van Accounting for eleven years and Unysis for six years.

Joy was a member of Evangelical Free Church in Clear Lake and the Christian Women’s Club. She was known as the “Cookie Lady” because of her love for baking cookies, enjoyed planting seeds for flowers and plants. She and Don were avid travelers, traveling extensively through Iowa and Minnesota. They also liked spending time together at Daylight Donuts and Cabin Coffee.

She is survived by three children, Dennis (Jackie) Harrington of Ellicott City, MD, Craig (Linda) Harrington of Clarksville, TN, and Susan Harrington of Ankeny, IA; two step-children, Kim (Patty) Nelson of Marengo, IA and K’Lee (Colin) Latham of South Carolina, and their families; two grandchildren, Matthew and Hope Harrington of Ellicott City, MD; a sister, Marilyn (Harold) Heesch of Titonka; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; both husbands; and an infant brother, Norman.

The family wishes to express extreme gratitude to the staff at Rockwell Community Nursing Home and Hospice of North Iowa who cared for not only their mother, but the family as a whole. Their care and support went beyond measure.