Helgeson, Janice Carol (Nesset) 1941 - 2021
HELGESON, NESSET, HAUGEN, RAGLAND, KIPP, SEVERSON, SHINDELAR, LANCASTER, UHRHAMMER, BORSETH
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 4/30/2021 at 09:11:19
Janice Helgeson, age 79, of Spillville, IA passed away on Friday, April 23, 2021 at Aase Haugen Senior Services in Decorah.
Visitation will be on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Schluter-Balik Funeral Home, 604 South Ave in Decorah. Burial will follow at Phelps Cemetery in Decorah.
Janice Carol Helgeson, was born Janice Carol Nesset on June 26, 1941 to become the daughter of Helen and Otto and younger sister to Harlan.
Janice was doted on by her mom and dad and cherished by her brother. She grew up a bit of a tomboy because her Grandpa was a fisherman and 18 at heart. Janice would be by her father's side when he was doing many of these things. Otto taught her how to fish, pick nightcrawlers, and Tinker on things. Growing up in Decorah there were plenty of opportunities and fishing holes to return home with stringer's full of fish every time they went. Of course, to fish you needed bait, so her dad trained her to be a master of Nightcrawler hunting. She took it upon herself to learn how to catch these nightcrawlers with her toes, taking her shoes off, and using a flashlight to spot her prey, with lightning speed she would catch them between her toes and nine times out of ten complete her efforts successfully. I have never seen anyone before, or after, practice this method. To this day I believe she is the only person in the world to ever attempt such an odd feet. (Pun intended) this alone makes her very special.
As her oldest son I had the pleasure to experience my mother in her younger years and I consider that a blessing. I remember one particular weekday after work I took the Jeep I had just bought to show it to her. With the top off we went for a ride around town from Spillville heading east. I'll never forget the look on her face when I surprised her by driving into the ditch to show off the Jeeps capabilities. I learned that day ma had the ability to pierce ear drums with her screams. She was a fun-loving woman. Another thing she enjoyed was packing the kids up in whatever family vehicle we owned at the time and just driving with the radio up. We usually ended up at Grandma's for coffee and cookies and always pulled back into our driveway just before the sun went down.
She loves her children, she told me so. When she was away from her children, she was very distracted and didn't have much fun because she wanted to be with her kids. She was always there to lend a helping hand with whatever we needed. She held all of her kids close to her heart speaking fondly of her sons Jim and John quite often.
For years mom and my sister Cheryl would get together at the house and make lefse, hundreds and hundreds. She enjoyed spending time with her daughter.
Brother Jeff turned out to be her guardian angel later in life. Being there for whatever small task or chore Ma needed to be done. And that never changed even to her last day. They were two peas in a pod.
We will miss her and wait until the day we can all be together again. Rest in peace mom.
She is survived by her children: Joe (Roxanne) Helgeson, Ossian, IA; Sharyl (Dave) Haugen, Decorah, IA; Jeff Helgeson, Spillville, IA and John (Martha Ragland) Helgeson, Cresco, IA. Grandchildren: Jessie (Anthony Severson) Kipp, Ossian, IA; Michael (Samantha) Shindelar, Madison, WI; Amber (Cody Lancaster) Helgeson, Spring Grove, MN; Dalton (Anna Uhrhammer) Helgeson, Spring Grove, MN. Great grandchildren: Tyler, Ivy, Blayn, Brayden, Jackson, Charlie, Casey, Elizabeth and Henry. Great-great grandson: Tony Haugen along with several nieces and nephews.
Janice was preceded in death by her son: Jim Helgeson. Parents: Helen Borseth and Otto Nesset. Brother: Harlan Nesset. Sister-in-law: Norma Nesset.
Source: Schluter-Balik Funeral Home database
Phelps Cemetery
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Bruce Kuennen.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen