Obituary Record

LeVern S (Rev.) Nielsen
Died on 10/14/2012

Posted On-line: Tuesday, October 16, 2012; Published in The Enterprise, Friday, October 19, 2012 (picture)

Rev. LeVern S. Nielsen, 85

Rev. LeVern S. Nielsen, 85, died at his home in Racine, Wis., on Sunday, October 14, 2012.

Services will be 1 p.m. Friday, October 19, at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 322 Ohio Street, Racine. Visitation will be at Sturino Funeral Home, 3014 Northwestern Ave., Racine, on Thursday from 4 until 7 p.m. and at the church on Friday from noon until 12:45 p.m.

LeVern S. Nielsen was born May 26, 1927, in Luck, Wis., the son of Rev. Niels Peter and Maren C. (Olsen) Nielsen.

He attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., for two years.

He was drafted into the United States Army and served during the Korean Conflict.

Returning home, he attended Dana College in Blair where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree and then enrolled in the Trinity Seminary. After completing two years there, he moved to Racine where he served his internship for a year at Gethsemane Lutheran Church.

Then to complete his Masters of Divinity degree, he attended Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa.

In June of 1958, he was ordained as a Lutheran minister in Blair.

On February 9, 1957, he married Marilyn Y. Holm at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Racine.

He served as pastor at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Sioux City, Iowa, from 1958 to 1963; Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Stoughton, Wis., from 1963 to 1974; Covenant Lutheran Church, Stoughton, from 1974 to 1977; and Orfordville Lutheran Church, Orfordville, Wis., from 1977 to 1987.

He was a chaplain at Salem Lutheran Home in Elk Horn, Iowa, from 1987 to 1991.

Rev. Nielsen was a member and past president of the Rotary in Stoughton and chairman of the Bicentennial Committee in 1976.

He was a member and volunteer at the Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, Iowa, and the Danish American Archives and Library in Blair. Returning to Racine in 1998, he was a member of Lutheran Church of the Resurrection.

He also was a volunteer for Lincoln Lutheran, Habitat for Humanity, and a greeter for the Blood Center of Wisconsin.

He enjoyed singing, reading, traveling and American history.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Marilyn; children and their spouses: Karen Nielsen of Racine, Rev. Erik and Mary Nielsen of Vienna, W.Va., Lisa Nielsen of St. Marys, Ga., and Ruth and Dale Mortensen of North Olmsted, Ohio; grandchildren, Christian Levin-Nielsen, Abraham Levin-Nielsen, Kiernan Levin-Nielsen, Emma Levin-Nielsen, Signe Mortensen and Luke Mortensen; great-grandsons Joshua Levin-Nielsen and Jakob Levin-Nielsen; sisters-in-law, Elva Nielsen of Cedar Falls, Iowa, Phyllis Nielsen of Yankton, S.D., and Betty Nielsen of Edina, Minn.; brothers-in-law, Charles Doidge of Eden Prairie, Minn., and Harold Holm II and wife, Grace, of Racine; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his sisters and brothers, Dagmar (Keith) Knudsen, Rudolph Nielsen, Lydia (Otto) Stave, Lela (Paul) Neve, Adolph Nielsen, Merl Dean Nielsen, Carl Nielsen and Vera Mae Doidge; and sister-in-law Nancy (Harold) Amland.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to the Danish American Archives and Library, 1738 Washington Street, Blair, NE 68008 or Danish Immigrant Museum, 2212 Washington St., Elk Horn, Iowa, 51531.

~~~Obituary courtesy of the Washington Genealogical Society. Newspaper clipping on file at the Blair Public Library.~~~

Printed in the Washington County Enterprise on 10/19/2012


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