Ernest H. NELSEN

NELSEN, MADSEN, CARR, QUIGLEY, GAULKE, MCBRIDE, DOWLING, STANLEY, MUHLENBRUCH, ANDREWS, BURT

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 3/25/2012 at 15:43:30

August 10, 1918 --- March 22, 2012

Ernest (Ernie) H. Nelsen, age 93, of Belmond and Rowan, died Thursday, March 22, 2012 at the Belmond Medical Center. Funeral services for Ernie H. Nelsen will be held Monday, March 26, 2012 at 10:30 A.M. at the United Church of Rowan with Pastor Nancy Hofmeister officiating. Burial will be in Graceland Cemetery near Rowan. Visitation for Ernie H. Nelsen will be held Sunday, March 25, 2012 from 5:00 until 8:00 P.M. at Dugger Funeral Home, 111 Luick’s Lane South in Belmond and one hour prior to services at the church. Memorials may be made in Ernie H. Nelsen’s name to his family.

Ernie, the son of Edwin and Eva (Madsen) Nelsen was born August 10, 1918 near Rowan on the family farm. He grew up near Rowan, where he attended school. Ernie graduated from Rowan High School in 1937 and began farming and custom baling with his father, Edwin. Ernie was united in marriage to Iris M. Carr on December 11, 1939. The couple made their home near Rowan where he continued to farm with his father for the next eighteen years. Ernie and Iris were blessed with two children, Judy and Arlyn. Ernie began working for the Standard Oil and Fertilizer Company in Rowan. He managed that business until his retirement in 1980. Over the years, Ernie and Iris traveled the world by winning sales promotions for the chemical companies. Jamaica, Bahamas, Monte Carlo and Hawaii were just a few of the many places they traveled. Ernie and Iris wintered nineteen years in Texas and Arizona. The couple moved to Belmond in 2010.

Ernie was baptized at the Methodist Church in Rowan. Family was extremely important to Ernie and he will be remembered for his endless love for his family. Ernie was an avid fisherman who enjoyed spending many summers in Canada on camping and fishing trips with Iris and their grandchildren. Ernie also enjoyed growing raspberries and walnuts. Ernie had the opportunity to experience an entire life and spectrum of farming from picking corn by hand to combing corn with the latest technology. He considered himself very lucky to see such change in his chosen career. He was one of the first local farmers to have purchased a combine. Ernie loved to reminisce and would often share his memories of the “the good old days” with his grandkids. Those memories will be treasured and passed on for years to come.

Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of 72 years, Iris; their children, Judy (Pat) Quigley of Belmond and Arlyn (Lana) Nelsen of Ottumwa; four grandchildren, Bennett (Deb) Gaulke of Des Moines, Natalie (Tony) McBride of Clive, Lora (Darin) Dowling of Des Moines, Mary (Sean) Stanley of Johnston; ten great grandchildren, Nathan (Rachelle), Lauren and Logan Gaulke, Mark, Jeff (Nicole), Meghan and Colin McBride, Madelyn and Joselyn Dowling, and Mackenzie Stanley; two great-great grandchildren, Savannah McBride and Mackenzie Jo Gaulke; a host of relatives, longtime friends, and a special cat, Sweetie-Pie. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, Everett Nelsen; two sisters, Edna Muhlenbruch and Enid Andrews; and son-in-law, Jim Burt.

DUGGER FUNERAL HOMES.
http://www.duggerfunerals.com/current-services.html