Mary Lou Nelson

Due to inclement weather, the Funeral Service for Mary Lou Nelson has been rescheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 19, 2017 at the Bethel Lutheran Church in Holdrege, Nebraska with Reverend Dr. Cathi Braasch, STS officiating. Interment will be in the Moses Hill Cemetery in rural Phelps County, Nebraska following a fellowship and luncheon at the church directly after the funeral.

Mary Lou Nelson, 88 years of age, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, (formerly of Holdrege), passed away on Saturday, January 7, 2017 at Brookdale Palmer Park in Colorado Springs.  Mary Lou was born May 7, 1928 on the family farm in rural Bertrand, the eldest of five children born to Lou and Aurel (Scott) Meyer.  Mary Lou was baptized on June 3, 1928 at Hope Lutheran Church in rural Smithfield, Nebraska. She received her primary education at Union Public School District #45 in Gosper County, and then graduated from Bertrand High School with the class of 1946.

On June 9, 1946, she was united in marriage to George W. Nelson at the Hope Lutheran Church and to this union two daughters were born: Cheryl and Terri.  The family made their home on the farm east of Loomis, where Mary Lou and George farmed and raised and milked cattle together side-by-side for 55 years.  In 1980, the couple moved into their new home in Holdrege.  Mary Lou later worked as a Pre-School Teacher at the Bethel Lutheran Church in Holdrege for 5 years prior to her retirement.  George and Mary Lou celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary with their family in the summer of 2006.  On March 31, 2007, she was preceded in death by her husband, George. In 2011, Mary Lou moved into Assisted Living at the Bertrand Nursing Home and then in 2012, she moved into a specialized Alzheimer facility in Colorado Springs that was located near her daughter, Cheryl's home.

Mary Lou was a member of the Bethel Lutheran Church in Holdrege, where she sang in church choir and taught Sunday school for 52 years.  Mary Lou enjoyed sewing, drawing and painting, baking, cake decorating and entertaining in her home.

Besides her husband, George; Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents; one granddaughter, Darci Lovitt; one brother, Darrel Meyer; two sisters: Charlene Kelly and Audrey Meyer as a young girl; sisters-in-law:  Marjorie Nelson, Muriel Dillon, Lois Nelson, and Dollie Kohut and her husband, Eugene; brothers-in-law: Reuben Nelson and his wife, Grace, Ray Nelson and his wife, Gladys, Roy Nelson and his wife, Francis, Bernard Nelson, Norbert Noonan and his wife, Mildred and Darrel Meyer and his first wife, Carol.

Mary Lou leaves to celebrate her life; her two daughters:  Cheryl Mork and her husband, Tom of Colorado Springs and Terri Lovitt and her husband, Kim of rural Loomis; four grandchildren: Cami Beck and her husband, Mike of Colorado Springs, Staci Fertig and her husband, Jerry of Holdrege, Brandon Traudt and his wife, Christy of Grand Island and Ryan Lovitt of Loomis; eleven great-grandchildren:  Ashton, Alli and Andrew Dennis, Taylor Gracia, Alec, Aden and Emercen Lovitt, Isaac and Tia Traudt, Andrew Eledge and Hunter Beck ; one sister, Janice Bachman and her husband, Stuart of Bertrand; sisters-in-law, Betty Meyer of Bertrand and Wilma Kinnaman of Tracyton, Washington; brothers-in-law:  Bob Kelly of Omaha and Byron Nelson of Holdrege; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Visitation has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January 18, 2017 from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. with the family greeting from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege.

A memorial has been established in Mary Lou's honor and will be designated at a later date.

Expressions of caring and kindness can be sent to the family at www.nelsonbauerfh.com

The Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege is in charge of the arrangements.