Bolson, Avis Carol (Smith) Nelson 1921-2008
BOLSON, SMITH, STEWART, NELSON, TOBIASON, WINTER, GARCIA, SIMPSON, WICHTENDAHL, VEGORS, MAU
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 8/15/2012 at 16:05:17
Avis C. Bolson, age 87, of Decorah, Iowa, died Monday, October 6, 2008 at Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah following a short illness, under Hospice care with her family at her side.
Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 P.M. Friday, October 10, 2008 at First Lutheran Church in Decorah by Rev. Steven M. Jacobsen with burial in Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah.
Friends may call from 4:00 – 7:00 P.M. Thursday, October 9 at Fjelstul Funeral Home in Decorah and an hour prior to the services on Friday at the church.
Avis Carol (Smith) Bolson was born March 14, 1921, at the family farm near Nihill, Wheatland County, Montana, to Harold Edwin and Myrtle Anna (Stewart) Smith of Buchanan County, Iowa. The Smiths returned to Iowa when Avis was a few months old and farmed in the Stanley, Lamont and, later, Hazelton areas.
Avis attended Lamont High School, graduating with the class of 1938 and went on to Pitzie’s School of Cosmetology in Waterloo. After graduating in May 1939, she came to Decorah to work in Toby’s Beauty Shop. In the ‘50s and ‘60s she worked at J.C. Penney, Rosel Pharmacy and, later, Rambo’s Pharmacy. Avis married Odin G. Nelson, now deceased, on July 4, 1940. To this union two children were born: O. Davis (Dave) in 1941 and Linda Marie in 1943. She married Hubert A. Bolson of Decorah on November 9, 1963.
Avis had a love for life and pursued many interests. She was a good cook and enjoyed gatherings of friends and family. She and Hubie went camping and fishing many weekends and loved to mushroom hunt, which was aided by their living in the old brick mansion by Dunning Spring, above the Upper Iowa River. Together they frequented every garage sale and auction in the area for decades and accumulated a huge collection of antiques back when they were still bargains. Avis had a special fondness for memorabilia from her adopted home, Decorah. They enjoyed studying the birds and wildlife from their kitchen window as well as traveling and playing cards with local friends.
Avis was preceded in death by her parents and her only sibling, Eileen Smith Tobiason Winter.
Avis is survived by her husband, Hubert of Decorah; her son: Dave (Amy) Nelson of Boulder City, NV; grandsons, Geoffrey & Gregory (Kelly) Nelson of Petaluma, CA; granddaughters Calida Garcia and Maida Nelson; great grandsons, Geoffrey Jr, Sean and Jeremy Nelson; her daughter, Linda (John) Simpson of Fort Dodge, IA; grandchildren Teresa (Kevin) Wichtendahl, Brent Vegors and Heather Vegors; great grandchildren, Brittney and Ben Wichtendahl; her stepchildren: Margeen (Steve) Mau of LaCrescent, MN, Steve (Ann) Bolson of Evergreen, CO, and Rob (Nancy) Bolson of Decorah and their families.
Memorials may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17 Chicago, Ill. 60601-7633 or WMC Hospice, 901 Montgomery Street, Decorah, IA 52101.
Source: Fjelstul Funeral Home database
Lutheran Cemetery, Decorah
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Jeff Getchell.
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