Gladys Nelson, 96

Gladys Nelson fell asleep in the Lord on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at age 96.

She was born September 28, 1913 to Arne and Annie Homdrom, just south of Williston, North Dakota.

Funeral services were held March 10 at Bradshaw Funeral Home in South Minneapolis.

After the death of her father in 1921, her family moved to Erskine, where she graduated from high school in 1931. She attended Mayville Teachers College in Mayville, North Dakota for one year with her sister, Ruth. She returned to Erskine and was employed in the TK Berge clothing store.

In June 1942, Gladys boarded a train for Seattle, Washington where she married Henry Nelson on June 16, 1942. Henry was stationed at Fort Worden on the Olympic Peninsula, just west of Seattle, and he had a three-day pass. Following the wedding ceremony, she got on a train and returned to Minnesota.

After Hank’s discharge, the couple moved to Alexandria where they began raising their three sons. Gladys was a homemaker, caregiver and gentle stabilizer for her nomadic family. When the kids had left the nest, Gladys sold Avon products and also worked at the golf club, making salads.

She was a member of Bethesda Lutheran Church in Alexandria. She loved to make afghans for her family, weave rag rugs and go fishing with her husband. She loved to drink coffee and have cookies and other sweets with anyone who would drop by. Her favorite game of bridge drew her into many wonderful lifelong relationships with best friends. She was a pro at making lefse – even this past fall with her grandchildren, Sarah and Travis – as well as making her family’s favorite cookies of molasses with frosting and sugar cookies.

Those left behind are her three sons, Bruce (Jane) of Minneapolis, Gary of Elk River, and Randy (Jean) of Little Marais; nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; brothers, Ted (Betty) of St. Paul and Clarence (Frieda) of St. Paul; many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Hank, in 2002; sister, Ruth; and brother, Olaf.

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Tags: gladys nelson, obituaries, nelson

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