Anna M. Nelson

Anna Nelson, 86, passed away Monday, August 29, 2011 at Bethany Lutheran Home in Sioux Falls.

Funeral services will begin at 7:00 PM Thursday, September 1, 2011 at St. John American Lutheran Church, 13th and Western in Sioux Falls.

Visitation will begin at 5:30 PM Thursday at the church.

Anna Ilene was born September 8, 1924 at Nunda, SD to parents Julius and Emma (Bortnem) Mehlum. She attended grade school in Nunda, SD. After the death of her father from an accident she lived with Bernice and Les Larson and graduated from Trent High School in 1943.


Ann married Morris E. “Mory” Nelson, February 14, 1947 at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, SD. The couple lived in Hot Springs, Redfield and Brookings before moving to Sioux Falls in 1955. She worked for an insurance agency early in their marriage. Ann later worked for and retired from Western Electric.


Ann will be missed in her circle of bridge friends. Ann was extremely competitive and a master at playing bridge. She was sharp and active in bridge club until her recent move to Bethany Lutheran Nursing Home. Ann enjoyed dressing up to go for lunch or to play cards, a good day was if she could do both. She loved to travel and was always game to take a trip. One of her favorite voyages was to Norway where she got to see the town that bears her maiden name. Ann looked forward to the monthly gathering of her birthday club bunch. They where very good friends for many years. She was a member of St. John American Lutheran Church which was a big part of her life.


Grateful for having shared her life are her sons, Jeffrey (Delight Hansen), Dell Rapids; Drew and his daughter, Abigayl, Sioux Falls; great-grandchildren, Taylor and Nicholas Hansen, Dell Rapids; sisters, Eunice (Galen) Crosby; Beverly (Roger) Kraft; brother, James Mehlum all of Madison, SD; brother-in-law, Kenneth Ottoson, Madison, SD numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives and friends.


Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Morris February 13, 2009, parents, two sisters, Evelyn and Doris; brother, Ronald; sister-in-law, Donna and brother-in-law, Harold.