Donald Erick Nelson

Donald "Don" Nelson, 87 year old resident of Sartell, formerly of Little Falls, passed away on Tuesday, September 10 at his home in Sartell with his loving wife by his side. A funeral service will be held on Monday, September 16 at 11:30 A.M. at Zion Lutheran Church in Little Falls. A visitation will be held from 2:00-5:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 15 and from 10:30 A.M. until the hour of the service on Monday. All visitation times will be held at Zion Lutheran Church in Little Falls.

 Donald was born on October 3, 1936 to Sven and Sibyl (Ellenson) Nelson in Waubun, Minnesota. He grew up in Callaway, Frazee and Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. He attended and graduated from Long Prairie High School with the class of 1954. After high school, Don enlisted in the U.S Navy. He was honorably discharged in 1957. Upon returning from the service, he enrolled at St. Cloud State University and graduated in 1960 with a B.A. Degree in Business Administration. Don married the love of his life, Kay Schwanke on June 7, 1959 at St. John's Lutheran Church in Grey Eagle, Minnesota. Following their marriage the couple lived in Sauk Rapids and Paynesville, moving to Little Falls in 1960 where he went to work for Brunswick Boats. He also worked at DeZURIK, MP&L, Sanitary Milk and Ice Cream, St. Cloud Beauty College, St. Mary's Villa and Bednarek Trucking. After retirement Don worked at the Country Inn and Suites as the night bookkeeper and "cookie baker". Don and Kay enjoyed many of their retirement years living at their home on Lake Alex in Cushing, Minnesota.

He enjoyed boating, fishing and taking the girls waterskiing. Don loved playing cribbage and doing sudoku puzzles. He was an avid MN Twins and Vikings fan.

Don is survived by his wife, Kay; daughters, Kimberly Henkemeyer of Little Falls, Kelsi (Chad) Holien of Rice; sister, Shirley (Bill) Arendt of Wayzata; grandchildren, Kadyn (James) Stache, Kia (Jeff) Kohlgraf, Kody Henkemeyer, Ainsley (Riley) Ahrndt, Dru, Adam, Kalli and Jordan Holien; great-grandchildren, Karson, Kenley and Jackson.

 He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, James.

 Emblom Brenny Funeral Service is Cherishing the Memory and Celebrating the Life of Donald.