Obituary

Former students, faculty and staff at M-D-R Public Schools are invited to a memorial service for longtime teacher Viola Nelson at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 28 at Bethany Lutheran Church, 302 N. Birch St., in Wenona.

Viola Dorothea Nelson, 103, of Duluth, MN, died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018 at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth.

She was born Aug. 7, 1914, the first of two children, to Bernard and Florence (Flesburg) Crone in Wenona. She graduated from Wenona High School and Illinois State University in Normal with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She was an elementary and remedial reading teacher in Wenona, Leaf River, Benson and Minonk-Dana-Rutland public schools for 25 years.

She and Carl J. Nelson, also a former M-D-R teacher, were married Oct. 10, 1942. They had two sons, Wayne (Mary Mathews) of Duluth, and Donald (Mary Jo) of Fort Myers, FL.

After Carl and Vi's retirement in 1974, they moved to Grand Marais, MN. She moved to Duluth in 2003 following his death.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, sister Eleanor (James) Winter, and two brothers-in-law, James Winter and Mauritz Lindvall.

She is survived by her two sons and their wives; three grandchildren, Julie (Trent) Helland, Lake St. Louis, MO, Scott (Stephanie) Nelson, St. Charles, MO, and Todd (Stacy Reuter), Lake Ozark, MO; sister-in-law Marian (Nelson) Lindvall, Denver, CO; two nieces, Janice (Gale) Miller of Denver and Anita (Curtis) Addicks of Bloomington, IL; one nephew, Robert (Marcia) Winter of Taylor Ridge, IL; 12 great-grandchildren; one great-great granddaughter; five great nieces and five great nephews.

Memorials can be made to Bethany Lutheran or any child charity of the donor's choice.