Edna C. Axelson, 99, of Oakland, died Sunday, June 22, 2003, at the Oakland Heights in Oakland.

Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Friday, June 27, at the First United Methodist Church in Oakland, with the Rev. Robert E. Call officiating. Interment will be in the Oakland Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 1 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 26, at Palmquist-Pelan Funeral Home in Oakland and Friday at the church, one hour prior to the service.

Edna C. Axelson was born July 26, 1903, in Shenandoah, Iowa. She was the eldest daughter of Charles Magnus and Anna Helena (Johnson) Nelson.

Her family moved to Randolph, Neb., in 1913. She attended Cedar County Schools near Magnet and graduated from Randolph High School in 1921. She attended Wayne State Normal School and taught at High Prairie, District No. 18, in Cedar County for two years and then the intermediate grades in the Magnet Public School for two years.

On Dec. 24, 1924, Edna and Philip E. Axelson were united in marriage at Wayne. They made their home on a farm near Wausa. In March 1943, the family moved to a farm near Hooper. In 1952, they moved to Oakland.

Mrs. Axelson was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Oakland, where she taught Sunday School and Bible School and served as the financial secretary for many years. She served as president of the W.S.C.S. (United Methodist Women) for two years at Wausa and again for two years in Oakland. She was a member of the Oakland Memorial Hospital Auxiliary since 1952 and a patron of Golden Oaks since its beginning in 1973. She also attended Bible studies and Oakland Heights and Four Tree Village.

Survivors include her daughters and sons-in-law, Charis & Lester “Gus” Nelson of Blair, Gloria & Harry Wagner, Kerrville, Texas; five grandchildren and their families; thirteen great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Philip; a sister, Hilma Pohlman; two brothers, Roy Nelson and Col. Harry Nelson, and great-grandson, Brett Philip Nelson.

Memorials are suggested to the First United Methodist Church in Oakland, and Oakland Heights Nursing Home.

Palmquist-Pelan Funeral Home in Oakland is in charge of arrangements.