Nels Nelson, 88, of Thief River Falls, MN, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Saturday, February 5, 2011 at the Thief River Care Center.

Funeral services will be 10:30 AM, Saturday, February 12, 2011 at Faith Assembly of God Church in Thief River Falls, MN with Pastor Joe Karow officating. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, rural St. Hilaire, MN.

Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the funeral service at the church on Saturday.

Nels Henry Nelson was born March 29, 1922 on the family farm near Hazel, MN, the seventh of eight children born to Hannah (Lokken) and Nels M. Nelson. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Pauli Lutheran Church and attended school in Hazel, MN.

Nels farmed for eight years before being drafted into the Army in 1944. He served with Company F 347th Infantry in the Philippines and Japan as a Rifleman. Nels was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with one Bronze Star, Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one Bronze Star, Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal and Army of Occupation Medal (Japan). He was honorably discharged in 1946. Nels was a member of VFW Post 2793.

He farmed and worked construction until 1957 when he was injured during a cave-in. Nels was united in marriage to Kathryn Akin Dempsey on November 2, 1959. He resided in and near Thief River Falls with his wife, two stepsons, Terry and Randy Dempsey and two daughters, Jeanette and Karin.
Nels enjoyed carpentry work, hunting, fishing, camping, yard work and gardening, listening to and watching the Minnesota Twins games, singing and spoiling his grandkids and great-grandkids.

Nels graduated from the Thief River Falls Area Vocational Technical School with a Diploma in Welding in 1965. He worked as a welder and a welding supervisor at Arctic Cat from 1964 to 1983, until he retired.

Survivors include his wife, Kathryn of Thief River Falls, stepsons, Terry Dempsey of Minneapolis, MN, and Randy Dempsey of Thief River Falls; daughters, Jeanette (Jeff) Eckstein of Thief River Falls, and Karin (Steven) Rost of Bloomingdale, GA; grandchildren: Charity (Rich) Koenig, Krischelle (Mark) Sides, Terry M. Dempsey, Philip Stoutenberg, Kajsa (William) Mooney, Vanessa (Paul) dehaan-Jungwirth, Marissa DeHaan and Slater Rost; great-grandchildren: Caedron, Mallorey, Liam, Evangeline, Macauley, Adrian, Abbi, Jacob and Julia; a sister, Evalin Wold of Miamisburg, OH, as well as many nieces, nephews and friends.

He is proceeded in death by his parents; brothers and sisters, Norman Nelson, Raynard Nelson, Hazel Wedul, Nellie Farbo, Myrtle Erickson, Pearl Dicken and an infant sister