Margaret "Marge" J. Nielsen, 77

Margaret “Marge” J. Nielsen, 77, of Blair, died Monday, April 23, 2012, at her home in Blair.

Services will be 10 a.m. Thursday, April 26, at St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church in Blair. Visitation will be at Campbell-Aman Funeral Home beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday with family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Interment will be in the Blair Cemetery.

Margaret Jeanne Marie Surber was born July 1, 1934, to Clifford and Loretta (Haller) Surber at St. Joseph Hospital in Omaha.

She was baptized at St. John's Catholic Church in Omaha.

Her parents moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where she attended grades 1-3 at St. Boniface School. They later returned to Omaha where she attended grades 4-8 at St. John's grade school. She graduated from St. Joseph Academy in 1952.

Following graduation, she began working at World Insurance Company in Omaha. She also attended night school at Duchesne College and Creighton University.

On December 11, 1954, she married Richard L. Nielsen in Blair. While raising four children, Mrs. Nielsen helped with the bills by working at various jobs. She worked at World Insurance of Omaha, Washington County Bank, Tuff Glass, Blair City Schools, Blair West Pharmacy, and the offices of the Washington County Assessor and the Clerk of the District Court.

She loved bowling and bowled on a league. She was active in school activities while her children were in school. She served as president of the PTA. She was a member of the Blair Fire Auxiliary for more than 40 years.

She was very talented at writing poetry, and left her family with many wonderful poems that will be cherished forever.

Mrs. Nielsen loved people and enjoyed talking to them. She never met a stranger. She would strike up a conversation with anyone, and she would know everything about them when the visit was over.

After her husband retired, they traveled extensively and managed to see all but a couple of states in the United States. They made numerous trips to Hawaii.

The couple was married for 57 years. They had a very loving marriage and she was a very loving wife, mother and grandmother.

She is survived by her husband, Dick Nielsen; daughters and son-in-law, Susan and Jeff Thompson of Kansas City, Mo., and Mary Donner of Blair; sons and daughter-in-law, Rick and Susan Nielsen and Dan Nielsen, all of Blair; sisters and brother-in-law, Kay and Jim Woodard of Blair, and Sue Karakehian of Denver, Colo.; brother and sister-in-law, Frank and Diane Surber of Las Vegas, Nev.; and sister-in-law, Janet Davis of Honolulu, Hawaii; eight grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; many nephews and nieces; cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by a sister, Mary Anne Shulte; and brothers, Robert Surber and Patrick Surber.