Donald E Nelson

Donald E. Nelson, 88, rural Clark, (Elrod), died in a Watertown care center on Tuesday, October 18, 2011. Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 21, 2011 at 10:30 AM in the Furness Funeral Home Chapel at Clark with The Reverend Keith Petersen officiating. Burial with full military honors provided by the VFW Post 750 of Watertown and the Army National Guard Honors Team will be in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Clark. Casketbearers will be Bernie Anderson, Laird Larson, Gary Biberdorf and Duwayne Dekker. The pianist will be Myrna Brenden. Visitation will be held on Thursday from 5-7 PM and again after 9AM on Friday all in the funeral home chapel. He was born at Vienna, SD, on January 8, 1923, the son of Herman and Myrtle (Lindberg) Nelson. He was schooled in various country schools in Codington and Clark County until the family settled near Elrod. He graduated from Clark High School in 1940. After high school he attended a welding school at Brookings and then traveled to Denver where he worked at Remington Arms. In February of 1943 he entered the US Army and served his country during WWII. While in the service he attended the Virginia Military Institute and later the New York City College. Don then went into the European Theater and served in various capacities including being an electrician. While in Switzerland he attended and graduated from the University of Bern. Following his discharge in April of 1946, he returned to South Dakota, helped on the family farm and began a career as a wheat harvester, traveling from the Canadian border south to Oklahoma. During the winter months he traveled to Rapid City and attended the South Dakota School of Mines and then back to Eastern South Dakota the other months helping on the family farm and his career as a harvester. He graduated with an Electrical Engineer degree in June of 1951. During his winter studies in Rapid City, he had met Norma Christensen. This courtship continued for several winters and on November 12, 1951, the couple married in Custer. Following their marriage they moved to California where Don worked for the Douglas Aircraft Corporation where he operated analog computers in development of missile guidance systems. In the spring, they returned to South Dakota, farmed some, wheat harvested and then returned to California. They did this for the next 3 years returning to the farm near Elrod after his father became ill. Since that time, they have lived on the farm. Don always said, "Wheat harvesting is my job, farming is my hobby". He continued to be a wheat harvester until retiring in 1994, due to health complications. In June of 2005 he moved to a Watertown care center. He was a confirmed member and former council member of the St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Henry and a lifetime member of the VFW joining in LaCrosse, KS many years ago. Some of his hobbies included farming, being a Ham radio, KOZEY, operator, fishing in earlier years, hunting pheasants and West River - Black Hills deer. Preceding him in death were his parents, a grandson, Bryce Nelson and siblings, Howard Nelson and Delores Sorenson. Grateful for having shared his life is his wife of nearly 60 years, Norma , son, Bruce (Amy) Nelson all of rural Clark, daughters, Sheryl (Al) Strandberg of Watertown and LaDonna (Bill) Gannon of Sioux Falls; 7 grandchildren, Keri, Jenna, Tegan, Kaitlyn, Shealyn, Leah and Mallory and 3 great-grandchildren, Levi, Brielle and Micah. He also leaves a sister-in-law, Doris Nelson of Wellington, KS and a brother-in-law, Merle Sorenson of Pierre. For further information please go to www.furnessfuneralhome.com