Joseph Arnold Nelson, age 83, of Spicer, died Friday evening, May 26, at Glen Oaks Care Center in New London.
Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, June 2, at Kongsvinger Lutheran Church in Donnelly with Rev. David Nelson officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Green Lake Funeral Home in Spicer with a prayer service at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.
Joseph Arnold Nelson was born June 12, 1922, in Green Lake Township, near Kandiyohi, Minnesota, the son of Enock and Olida (Haverly) Nelson. He was raised on the family farm in Green Lake Township and was baptized and confirmed at Green Lake Lutheran Church. He attended the District 33 School through the eighth grade and the Lutheran Bible Institute in 1956 and 1957. He farmed with his father and later worked as an elevator conductor at the Swedish Hospital in Minneapolis. He also worked at the Gatewood Gospel Mission in Minneapolis. In 1946, he returned to farming in Green Lake Township. On August 27, 1967, he married Agnes (Gudahl) Jacobson at Kongsvinger Lutheran Church in Donnelly. In 1980, they retired from farming and moved into Spicer. Following his retirement from farming, Joseph worked at Jennie-O Foods in Willmar for 11 years. He was a member of Green Lake Lutheran Church, where he served on the Board of Trustees and the Board of Deacons for many years.
He is survived by three daughters, Karen (and Gary) Loge of Merrifield, Beth (and Dick) Realdsen of Paynesville and Ruth (and Loren) Wiger of Marshall; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Also surviving are a brother, Daniel (and Alice) Nelson of Spicer; two sisters, Muriel (and Stanley) Block of Spicer and Rachel Langager of Willmar; several nieces and nephews and other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Agnes in November 2004; a brother, Orville Nelson; a sister, Harriet Fitzgerald; a brother-in-law, Doug Langager and a sister-in-law, Marie Nelson.