Nelson, Esther Valborg (Lutness) -- 1915 - 2000

LUTNESS, NELSON, ERICKSON, TAKLE, BAUMAN, ZANDER

Posted By: IA GenWeb Volunteer
Date: 6/22/2010 at 18:10:03

Decorah Journal, Thursday, MAY 4, 2000.

............Press Time Bulletin

VALBORG NELSON, 84, of Dubuque and formerly of Decorah, died Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2000, at the Luther Manor Nursing Home in Dubuque, following a long illness.

A memorial service will be held Friday, April 14, at 11 a.m., at First Lutheran Church in Decorah, with interment at the Lutheran Cemetery, Decorah.

There is no visitation. The Fjelstul Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Survivors include three daughters, Galene Erickson of Edina, Minn., Miriam Takle of Ames and Becky Bauman of Dubuque; seven grandchildren; one brother, Magnus Lutness of Bismarck, N.C.; and one sister, Margit Zander of Longmont, Colo.

Memorials may be made to First Lutheran Church in Decorah, Luther Manor in Dubuque, or to Hospice of Dubuque, 2255 JFK, Asbury Square, Dubuque, Iowa 52002.
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Decorah Public Opinion, Tuesday, MARCH 7, 2000.

Valborg Nelson

Valborg Nelson, 84, of Dubuque, formerly of Decorah, died Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2000, at the Luther Manor Nursing Home in Dubuque.

A memorial service will be held at First Lutheran Church in Decorah Friday, April 14, at 11 a.m., with the Rev. Thomas Miller officiating.

Interment will be at the Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah. The Fjelstul Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Esther Valborg (Lutness) Nelson was born June 8, 1915, in Houston, Minn., the daughter of the Rev. Otto J. and Galina Lutness.

From 1916-23, she lived in Perley, Minn. In 1923, the pastor's family, including eight children, moved to Enderlin, N.D., where she lived until she graduated from Enderlin High School in 1933.

Valborg was in the middle of these fun loving and musical children. Her stories of her outrageous brothers' pranks, her fun in plays and her participation in the first accapella high school choir in North Dakota kept family members entertained.

She attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. for two years. While she was parish secretary at First Lutheran Church in Fargo, N.D. she met her future husband, the Rev. Alvon Nelson, at a Bible camp. He was then serving a parish in Rubgy, N.D. They married Nov. 26, 1940.

While Alvon was the pastor, Valborg also is recalled as living a life of service to the church, God and her family, through tenures in Mayville, N.D., Denver, Colo., and Decorah. She carefully prepared Bible verses and enjoyed working with both young children and those in high school.

While Alvon served the Iowa District of the American Lutheran Church (ALC), the couple journeyed to Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. During all of this time, they sang many alto and tenor duets, which helped to spread their faith.

In Des Moines, Valborg worked at East High School. There she was an audio-visual person, repairing and organizing use of film projectors and other 1970's equipment. She is remembered as being the "mechanical" parent.

They retired to Clifton, Texas, Alvon's home town, in 1972, where he became a visitation pastor. They returned to Decorah in 1978, because Valborg wanted to be closer to her seven grandchildren.

Throughout her life Valborg served others and was a helpmate to her husband in the church. She enjoyed homemaking and cooking and was an accomplished seamstress, crocheter and knitter.

Alvon died in Decorah Nov. 13, 1994. Valborg had a stroke in 1997. She then moved to Edina, Minn., and later to Dubuque, to be near family.

Survivors include three daughters, Galene and Doug Erickson of Edina, Minn., Miriam and Dr. Gene Takle of Ames, and Becky and the Rev. George Bauman of Dubuque; seven grandchildren, Bret and Rachel Erickson of St. Louis Park, Minn., Kia and Jon Blumenthal of Edina, Minn., Dr. Cami and David Matthews of Rochester, N.Y., Dr. Christopher and Nicole Wascoe Bauman of Albuquerque, N.M., Dr. Tami Takle of Omaha, Neb., and Bryn and Ericka Takle of Ames;, one brother, Magnus and Viola Lutness of Bismarck, N.D.; one sister, Margit Zander of Longmont, Colo.; and many nieces and nephews.

Esther Valborg Nelson was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband, Alvon, who died Nov. 13,1994.

Memorials may be given to First Lutheran Church in Decorah, Lutheran Manor in Dubuque, and Hospice of Dubuque, 2255 JFK, Asbury Square, Dubuque, Iowa 52002

Transcribed by an IA GenWeb Volunteer from obituaries found in the Howard-Winneshiek Genealogy Society Library, Cresco, Iowa.