Nielsen, Orval 1918-2004

NIELSEN, MORTENSEN, SARGISSON

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, volunteer (email)
Date: 4/18/2009 at 18:08:36

LE MARS, Iowa -- Orval Nielsen, 86, of Le Mars passed away Friday, Nov. 5, 2004, at Happy Siesta Health Care Center in Remsen, Iowa.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. John's Lutheran Church in Le Mars, with the Rev. Gary Landsness officiating. Burial will be in West Fork Township Cemetery at Climbing Hill, Iowa. Visitation will begin 2 p.m. today, with the family present 5 to 8 p.m., and a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Mauer-Johnson Funeral Home in Le Mars. Visitation will resume one hour prior to services Tuesday at the church.

Orval George Nielsen was born on Aug. 13, 1918, in Elkhorn, Iowa, the son of Hilmar and Marie (Mortensen) Nielsen. He was raised in Elkhorn and graduated from Elkhorn High School. Orval continued his education at Iowa Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa (now the University of Northern Iowa), where he received his teaching certificate.

Orval's first teaching job was in McCallsburg, Iowa. He instructed students as well as coaching baseball and basketball. He continued his teaching and coaching career in Exira, Iowa. In 1939, Orval was inducted into the U.S. Army. He served as a 1st Lieutenant (Artillery Executive Officer) in the Pacific Theater (New Guinea and the Philippines) and received two bronze stars. At the close of World War II, Orval found himself as an Officer's Candidate Instructor. He received his honorable discharge in 1946 and returned to Exira and instructed junior high school students. Upon leaving Exira, he became Junior High School Principal in Harlan, Iowa.

On July 3, 1948, Orval and Barbara Sargisson were united in marriage at Grace Methodist Church in Sioux City. Orval and Barbara moved to Osage in 1948, where Orval was Elementary Principal, they started their family and he finished his bachelor of arts degree from Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls.

In 1951, Orval and his family would relocate to Le Mars, and he served the Le Mars Community School District as Elementary School Principal until his retirement in 1983. While in Le Mars, Orval obtained his master's degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa in 1955. He also taught various summer school classes at Westmar College in Le Mars.

Orval was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Le Mars and had served as vice president and secretary. He was a lifetime member of the Rotary Club in Le Mars and was a past president. He had also served as an Iowa Youth Director. He was a member of the American Legion, Wasmer Post 241 in Le Mars. Orval was an accomplished golfer and an avid fisherman and hunter.

Survivors include his wife, Barbara Jane Nielsen, of Le Mars; two sons, Steven Sarg Nielsen and his wife, Phyllis, of Ripon, Wis. and Terry George Nielsen and his wife, Patricia, of Hinckley, Ill.; a daughter, Devin Ann Nielsen, of St. Croix, Virgin Islands; four grandchildren, Kelly Ann, Sabrina Marie, Jessica Jane and Theodore Orval; a sister, Heleen Nielsen, of Storm Lake, Iowa; his mother-in-law, Hallie Sargisson, of Salix, Iowa; sisters-in-law, Helen Nielsen of Elkhorn, Iowa and Julianne Jorstad of Ames, Iowa; a brother-in-law, Payne Sargisson, of Salix; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Paul; his father-in-law, Walton Sargisson; and a brother-in-law, Roger Jorstad.

~Source: The Sioux City Journal, part of the Darrell E. Obituary Collection