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Obituary for Kenneth L. Nelson
Kenneth Lyle Nelson was born August 22, 1923 on the family farm in Clam Falls, WI to Lester and Gladys Nelson. He was the second of four children, an older brother Merlin (deceased), and two surviving younger sisters Naomi (Lewis, WI) and Doris (Frederic, WI). His mother died when he was ten years old. His father, Lester, remarried Ruth Rogness who had five children (all deceased) from a previous marriage (Emma Armstrong, Helga Smith, Mabel Berecz, Hulver Rogness, and Elsie Pulley). Lester and Ruth gave birth to two additional children, Marion (deceased) and Robert (Lewis, WI).
Kenneth grew up on the family farm, learning the value of hard work and hard-earned money. He graduated from Frederic High School in 1943. He is a veteran of World War II having served in the US Navy in Guam near the end of the war.
Ken married Ruth Stotz on June 26, 1949. He also started his life-long business that year, Lewis Silo Company, which served the farming communities of Northwest Wisconsin for nearly 60 years. Their first child Wally (Lewis, WI) was born in 1952 followed by Curtis (College Place, WA) in 1954 and Sandy Berg (Beaver Dam, WI) in 1958.
Ken lost his first wife to cancer in 1992 and married Betty Pace (Lewis, WI) on an Alaskan cruise in August of 1993. Betty had four sons by a previous marriage, Donnie (Warner Robbins, GA), Dennis (Warner Robbins, GA), Danny (deceased), and David (Frederic, WI). Betty and Ken shared 22 years together, doing some traveling and spending a number of Wisconsin winters at Merlins residence in Southern California.
Ken was an avid outdoorsman who fished, hunted, and trapped nearly all of his life. He partially put his children through private school from his trapping earnings and never had to be asked twice to take someone fishing. In 1980 he, along with his brothers Merlin and Robert, bought Knapp flowage (No-no Lake) just a couple of miles from his home which gave them years of pleasure from year-round fishing to deer hunting and firewood making.
Ken was also a sportsman, playing baseball in his early life and enjoying golf, horseshoes, and bowling for most of his adult life. He was an active member of the American Legion in Frederic in his later years and developed many strong friendships through both his recreational and business contacts.
Ken was an active member of the Seventh-Day Adventist church and helped start and sustain an 8-grade church school that operated in rural Frederic from 1989 2015.
Ken passed away peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by his family, on October 8, 2015 in the Frederic Nursing Home.
His Celebration-of-Life service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13 preceded by a visitation at 1:00 p.m. The service will take place at the Frederic Seventh-Day Adventist Church (605 Benson Road in Frederic). A reception will follow the service providing a chance to visit, trade stories, and share fishing lies.
Arrangements have been made at Rowe Funeral Home (715-327-4475) in Frederic, WI where his family encourages you to sign an online guest book at www.rowefh.com.
