Nelson, Esther

Esther Nelson died Friday, July 16, 2010, at Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo at the age of 90 years. Services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 20, at the United Methodist Church in Dysart. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday at Overton Funeral Home in Dysart. Burial will be at Dysart Cemetery.

Esther was born on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1920, near Marshalltown, Iowa, to John and Bertha (Poduska) Handorf. She attended country grade school near Garwin and later graduated from Garwin High School in 1936. She continued her education at Central Iowa Business College in Marshalltown and then became employed at the Marshall County Agricultural Conservation Office. On Easter Sunday, March 24, 1940, she was united in marriage to Russell Nelson at the Evangelical Chapel Church near Gladbrook. Esther and Russell made their home farming all their married life near Dysart, later retiring to town.

Esther had a passion for genealogy and was responsible for the creation of a family tree book of the descendants of Christian and Christina Nelson. She also helped make a Nelson family cook book. She enjoyed gardening and growing flowers, dancing, playing cards, scrapbooking and reading three daily newspapers.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Russell in 2005; daughter, Jean Nelson in 2001; and two sisters, Wilma Beichley and Arlene Bohnsack.

She is survived by her son, Larry (Adrienne) Nelson of Dysart; two grandchildren, Brett (Robin) Nelson and Melanie (Patrick) Franke; five great-grandchildren, Jared and Jacob Nelson, Tyler, Alexa and Ashley Franke, all of Johnston, Iowa; two sisters, Maxine Halverson of Marshalltown and Marilyn (Burton) Butler of Cedar Rapids; a sister-in-law, Mary Nelson of La Porte City; and special nieces and nephews.

Online condolences may be left at

A memorial fund is being established.