Nelson, Edith Helen (St. George)

Edith Helen (St. George) Nelson died quietly Monday, January 30, 2012, after a long and wonderful life. She was born on June 1, 1921 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to William N. and Helen (Kurszevski) St. George and was named after her father’s oldest sister. She was an only child who often said she would have loved to have had brothers and sisters. The family owned a dry cleaning business and tailor shop in Oshkosh and later New London. She attended Most Precious Blood grade school and graduated from Washington High School in New London where she enjoyed a capella chorus and played tenor saxophone in the marching band. Like most in her generation, she was a Red Cross volunteer during World War II and corresponded with many local boys who enlisted in service, some of whom were killed in action. She and her cousin Kay became lifelong correspondents with a group of Japanese-American GIs from Hawaii and their families – one of whom became a US Senator. She also began a long career as a commissioned saleslady and buyer of high-end ladies ready-to-wear clothing which led her to managing dress shops in Neenah and Wausau. Late in life she spent many happy years in a second sales career at Nau’s in Green Bay. In Wausau after the war she contracted a light case of polio and, when recovered, began work at Wisconsin Public Service where she met her future husband, Floyd E. Nelson. They were married on August 11, 1951 in Wausau and later transferred to Green Bay where they raised a family. He passed away in 1997 after a long illness. Edith’s favorite hobby was collecting and preserving family history and genealogy. In 1998 she wrote a memoir, Remembering Yesterdays, which can be found at the Brown County Library. Among her favorite memories: watching horse racing with her father; traveling by train to New York and DC with her cousin Kay during the war; dancing to swing music with Floyd; finally seeing the beautiful homeland of her Hawaiian friends; writing letters to dozens of correspondents, some for more than 60 years; seeing her children happily married; buying little gifts of clothing and jewelry for her granddaughters “just because;” and making any holiday celebration with the family a special time. An eternal optimist, she wrote in her memoir: “I always look forward to the future with interest. So many things ahead that will be pure joy for me to see what’s next.” Edith is survived by one daughter and son-in-law, Nanette Nelson and Douglas Landwehr; one son and daughter-in-law Stuart and Valerie Nelson; two granddaughters, Rachel and Stephanie Nelson; her husband’s brother-in-law Robert Reuter and his 10 sons and daughters and their families; several cousins and many old friends. Friends called Thursday, February 2 from 10:30 to 11:30 AM at St. Agnes Catholic Church, 1484 Ninth Street, where the Mass of Christian Burial was held at 11:30 AM with the Rev. Dane Radecki O. Praem officiating. Entombment at the Shrine of the Good Shepherd Mausoleum followed. Edith’s family would like to thank her dedicated caregivers at Rebekah Haven who made it possible for her to continue to enjoy life and pass away at her home there, surrounded by family and friends. Online condolences may be expressed at www.lyndahl.com Lyndahl Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 1350 Lombardi Avenue