Geraldene Jerri M Nelsen Obituary (1931

In Loving Memory Of Geraldene "Jerri" Nelsen A Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 13, 2013 at the United Church of Christ in Friend with Rev. Ken Leischner officiating. Visitation will be on Wednesday from noon-8 pm with the family greeting relatives and friends from 6-8 pm at Lauber-Moore Funeral Home in Friend. Also one-hour prior to service at the church. Memorials have been designated and are directed in care of the family. Geraldene "Jerri" Nelsen was born February 9, 1931 on a farm southwest of Dorchester, Nebraska to Frank and Ina (Jack) Parks the youngest of two children and passed away, Sunday, June 9, 2013 at the Tabitha Nursing Center in Crete, Nebraska at the age of 82 years and 4 months. As a young girl she attended country school and graduated from Dorchester High School with the class of 1948. On March 26, 1949 she was united in marriage to Dwayne Nelsen in the Dorchester Methodist Church and to this union two children, Sandra and Douglas were born. Together they made their home briefly in Paxton, Nebraska until 1959 when they returned to the Dorchester area and lived on the farm. In 1980 they moved into Dorchester and in 2009 they settled in Friend. For a time, Jerri worked at Penney's in Crete and Lincoln and also sold Avon. She drove the Dorchester Public School van for special needs children for several years. In her spare time she enjoyed playing cards including bridge and 500 with friends. Jerri had a very warm and wonderful outgoing personality and enjoyed spending time socializing and dancing with friends. She loved to crochet and was a wonderful cook. Her family was very important and she enjoyed taking care of and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren whenever possible. Jerri is a former member of the United Methodist Church in Dorchester where she participated in the United Methodist Women, taught Sunday School and Bible School and sang in the choir. She currently was a member of the United Church of Christ in Friend and the Women's Fellowship. She is survived by her husband Dwayne Nelsen, Friend, daughter and son-in-law, Sandi and Eugene Witkowicz, Lincoln, son and daughter-in-law, Douglas and Shari (Beckler) Nelsen, Dorchester, nine grandchildren and spouses, Paul Dwayne Muff, Lincoln, William Douglas and Stacey Muff, Springfield, NE, Scott James and Kristin Muff, Omaha, Christopher Michael and Melinda Witkowicz, Fremont, CA, Shawny and Tommy Hicks, Dorchester, Dusty and Laura Nelsen, Pilot Point TX, Lacey and Matthew Rinlee, Mansfield, TX, Caley Nelsen, Columbus, Tana Nelsen and Bart Miller, Kearney, 11 great-grandchildren, Jacob and Tate Muff, Scotty and Paul Muff, Gracyn and Cort Hicks, Emmersen and Dempsy Nelsen, Cutter and Lucchese Rinlee, Trigg Miller, brothers-in-law and sister-in-law, Virgil Nelsen, Friend, R.D. Flannigan, Tremont, IL, Marion Nelsen, Houston, TX, numerous nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends. Jerri was preceded in death by her parents, her sister and brother-in-law, Donna and Robert Schweitzer, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Bonnie Nelsen, Fern Flannigan, LuElma and Earl Ferguson, Melvin Nelsen, Ardis and Lloyd Noeller, Jim Nelsen.