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Elizabeth H. Nielsen, age 95, died at the Good Shepherd Home in Blair on Dec. 28, 2022.

Elizabeth was born July 10, 1927, in Watsonville, Calif., to Einar Hansen Solevad and Else Gudrun Poulsen, both immigrants from Denmark who met in California’s Central Valley before moving to Watsonville on Monterey Bay. Following her graduation from Watsonville High School in 1945, she attended Dana College, where she met John Wolter Nielsen of Albert Lea, Minnesota. They were married on April 8, 1949. After seventy-two years of marriage, John W. passed away at the age of 95 on May 12, 2021.

She is survived by her children: John Mark (Dawn) Nielsen, Jane (Doug Wilson), Anne (John) Hibbing and David Nielsen, a daughter-in-law, Patti Meier Nielsen, ten grandchildren, and thirteen great-grandchildren, as well as a sister, a brother and five nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by one son, Thomas Solevad Nielsen, as well as her parents and a nephew.

A talented artist even in high school, especially with water colors and pastels, her teacher wanted her to attend art school in Los Angeles. She, however, deferred to her parents’ wishes and came east to attend Dana College in Blair. Following her husband’s ordination and call to serve St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minnesota, she continued to develop her art through the Northfield Arts Guild, and she illustrated some of the publications of the United (Danish) Evangelical Lutheran Church, headquartered in Blair. When John was called to become Dana College’s first full-time campus pastor and professor of religion, the family moved to Blair.

Elizabeth completed her Bachelor of Arts in 1964, and then taught art at Blair Community High School from 1967 to 1975. After retiring from teaching, she assisted in the Dana College Humanities Program. She also did watercolors of local sites for monthly covers of The Washington County Line, a magazine published by her son, Tom. Until both were in their nineties, John and Elizabeth created their own Christmas cards, John writing a Christmas poem and Elizabeth doing the artwork.

Elizabeth loved nature, gardening and hosting family and friends. She especially enjoyed rides to Desoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge or in the hills south and west of Blair. She delighted in watching light play across the natural environment, reflecting her appreciation for Impressionist artists. The couple’s yard on Grant Street in Blair became a woodland garden that reminded her of walking as a child in the forests of the coastal mountain range above Watsonville. Family and friends enjoyed many dinners in the couple’s dining room.

Grandchildren and great-grandchildren loved playing in the library or sleeping before the fireplace in the living room. Elizabeth delighted in following their unfolding lives.

The service will be at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 7 at First Lutheran Church in Blair.

A memorial and future graveside service is planned. Memorials may be directed to the Friends of Boyer Chute and Desoto National Wildlife Refuge, the Washington County Food bank or a charity of the donor’s choice.

#2 Funeral leaflet

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Memorial Service for Elizabeth Solevad Nielsen
First Lutheran Church, Blair, Nebraska January 7, 2023

Verse
I wonder, whether God still acts
or does snow just fall and constellations
disintegrate in space?
Do people flourish for an era and
become extinct
And planets writhe in violent contortions
their inhabitants but helpless victims of
an unsuspected fate?
what constitutes the natural?
the divine?
I no longer know.
Perhaps there is the need for some
new weaver of a myth.
In the meantime I go to Bethlehem
Marveling yet at shining stars and
heavenly song,
to kneel before an infant's bed.

(image--nativity) 2010

For many years, Mom and Dad created their own Christmas cards, Dad writing a poem, Mom doing the art work. This is their Christmas card from 2010, the year our brother, Tom, died and Dana College closed.

Memorial Service for Elizabeth Hansen Solevad Nielsen
Grace and peace from our Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
Marking the season of Epiphany and in celebration of Elizabeth's life, whom we knew as sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, we will begin by singing a beloved Danish Christmas carol.

"Bright and Glorious is the Sky"--N.F.S. Grundtvig: Danish, 19th Century

Bright and Glorious is the sky,
Radiant are the heavens high,
Where the golden stars are shining,
All their rays to earth inclining,
Beckoning us to heaven above,
Beckoning us to heaven above.

Oh that holy Christmas night
Through the darkness beamed a light;
All the stars above were paling,
All their luster slowly failing
As the wonderous star drew nigh,
As the wonderous star drew nigh.

Sages from the east afar,
When they saw this wonderous star,
Went to find the the king of nations
And to offer their oblations
To the child, the newborn king,
To the child, the newborn king.

Him they found in Bethlehem,
Yet he wore no diadem;
There they saw a maiden lowly
With an infant pure and holy
Resting in her loving arms,
Resting in her loving arms.

Guided by the star they found
Him whose praise the ages sound.
We too have a star to guide us,
Which forever will provide us
With the light to find our Lord.
With the light to find our Lord.

And this star, as bright as day,
That will never lead astray
With its message so appealing,
Is the word of God, revealing
Christ, the way, the truth, the light,
Christ, the way, the truth, the light.

A reading from the Book of Psalms, 139: 1-18.

A reading from Paul's Letter to the Romans 14: 1-9

"Golden Light"--N.F.S. Grundtvig: Chr. Barnekow

Golden Light of morning bright
The sky is now adorning;
As sleeping child in mother's arm,
My God has shielded me from harm;
I thank him for the morning.

Golden light of morning bright
Is shed upon my labor;
As birds their morning song employ,
I praise my God for life and joy
To me and to my neighbor.

Golden light of morning bright
To me is life and gladness;
For I am happy every day
I walk upon God's holy way,
In joy as well as sadness.

Now I pray that God today
Will send to me His blessing;
My daily task I then fulfill,
According to His holy will,
His wondrous peace possessing.

With the sun my course is run
Until it has descended;
Oh, may this fleeting life of mine,
Just like the sun, for others shine
Until life's day is ended.

A reading from the Gospel of Luke 2: 22-38

Meditation : Pastor Linda Walz (Dana College Campus Pastor 1987-1991) Let us join in singing another Christmas carol.

"Your Little Ones, Dear Lord"--Hans A. Brorson: Johan A.P. Schulz

Your little ones, dear Lord, are we,
And come your lowly bed to see;
Enlighten every soul and mind,
That we the way to you may find.

With songs we hasten you to greet,
And humbly bow before your feet.
Oh, blessed hour, oh, sweetest night
That gave you birth, our soul's delight.

Oh, draw us wholly to you, Lord,
And to us all your grace accord;
True faith and love to us impart,
That we may hold you in our heart.

Until at last we too proclaim,
With all your saints, your glorious name;
In paradise our songs renew,
And praise you as the angels do.

Let us commend Elizabeth Solevad Nielsen to the mercy of God, our maker and redeemer. Let us all join in praying the prayer Jesus taught us.

The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord's face shine upon you with grace and mercy.
The Lord look upon you with favor and grant you peace.

We will close by singing "Oh Day Full of Grace"--N.F.S. Grundtvig: C.E.F. Weyse

O day full of grace, which we behold,
Now gently to view ascending;
Thou over the earth they reign unfold,
Good cheer to all mortals lending,
That children of light in every clime
May know that the night is ending.

How blest was that gracious midnight hour,
When God in our flesh was given;
Then flushed the dawn with light and powr,
That spread o'er the darkened heaven;
Then rose o'er the world that Sun divine
Which gloom from our hearts hath driven.

Yea, were every tree endowed with speech,
And every leaflet singing,
They never with praise His worth could reach,
Though earth with their praise were ringing
Who fully could praise the Light of life,
Who light to our souls is bringing?

As birds in the morning sing God's praise,
His fatherly love we cherish,
For giving to us this day of grace,
For life that shall never perish,
His Church He hath kept these thousand years,
And hungering souls did nourish.

When we on that final journey go
That Christ for us is preparing,
We'll gather in song, our hearts aglow,
All joy of heavens sharing,
And there we will walk in endless light,
With blest ones His praise forth telling.

Let us go forth in peace,
In the name of Christ, Amen.

Note: Psalm 139 was a favorite of our mother's. Romans 14:8 was a verse her father shared with our uncle, her brother, David, shortly before his death. "Golden Light" was a morning hymn that David and John Mark read to her at the time of our father's death, early on May 12, 2021. "Thy Little Ones, Dear Lord, Are We" is a song our mother often chose during family gatherings at Advent and Christmas. N.F.S. Grundtvig wrote "O Day Full of Grace" to celebrate the anniversary of St. Ansgar bringing Christianity to Denmark and Scandinavia a thousand years earlier in the 820's.

~~~Obituaries and funeral leaflets courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings and leaflets on file in the Blair, Nebraska Public Library~~~

Find a Grave Memorial #247880225