I'll never forget the time I forgot to give papa a hug so then he came in the living room and gave me a Bear hug. 

My Dad is ..chocolate candy bars, fishing, the cabin, his riding lawn mower, Velvet Beach in the mail truck, bib overalls, cards, licorice, ice cream, going out for breakfast, a back seat driver, apple pie, cookies, Schmidt beer, handyman, craftsman, the casino, (don't tell Mom), storytelling, treasures from the trash, lefse, head cheese, munster cheese, and so much more. I will always be your baby doll. I miss you lots. Your little girl.

Some of my memory's of my Dad , sitting on his back while swimming in the lake, also him throwing me in the water. When he came home from work my brother and I would ran to see who was going to get there first to unbuckle his boots, riding bikes to maple lake to fish, thinking I was faster than Dad at running of course he won. The cabin at all the seasons and many more thank you Dad for all of my wonderful memory's!

My Dad, He got up every morning and went to work. Work days and week ends. He always had something to  keep him busy. If he didn't have a project at home, he'd take us out to our Aunt and Uncles Farm.Later, when Uncle Bumps had the cabin, he'd be busy there. If I appeared to have NOTHING TO DO, he'd hand me a paint brush. My Father was a resourceful,brave,private and quiet man with a terrific sense of humor. I only saw him cry 3x in my life. We will be remembering and chatting about our times with him for the rest of our earthly lives. God Bless the Family of Herman Nelson.

The first time I went ice fishing was with Herman. We drove to Farm Island. it was early in the season so we drilled a hole in the ice. There was only about six inches so we had to walk out. we pulled the old portable way out on the ice and set up. Herman must of had his lucky horseshoe because he caught all the fish, walleye. It got dark early because it was December and it was bitter cold. The lake was "making ice", and would crack and rumble from time to time. We didn't leave until Herman had his limit. When we finally walked off the lake it was pitch dark, no moon only star light. I was scared because we were walking over fifty feet of water and there was water on top of the ice. Herman didn't seem to care one bit, so we just kept dragging the portable till we were off the ice. Thanks for the memory Herman, I'll never forget!

A lot of things have changed since Grandpa has passed away.  When I walk into the house to take Grandma to the pool he no longer looks up from his chair and says, "There's my schoolmarm!".  I can no longer call to ask him how much Nula is worth in 500 or whether it would be okay if Josh works on another bookshelf in his garage.  He is no longer there to gripe about the state of the world, and let's be honest, the deteriorating state of himself.  My Grandpa is no longer there to ask "What did you do to your hair?" after I get a haircut and to remind me to not take any "wooden nickels" on my way out the door.  He'll never see me get married, own my own home or even have kids.  But at least he got to see me get my very first dog...even if he could never remember his name and just referred to him as "Fred".

Having lost both my parents at a young age, Herman and Shirley treated me like a daughter.  I will always remember Dad's stories,  his smile and most of all,  his giggle.  Love you and miss you.

I'll never forget the time when we went fishing and grandpa caught a big sunfish, when he was taking the hook off the fish he got distracted by one of us getting a fish on. When I turned to look at grandpa the fish was peeing all over his light blue button down. We all had a good laugh. He'll surely be missed, but always remembered. Every time I have any kind of chocolate I'll be thinking about him.

I was about 5 or 6 when Dad woke me up in the middle of the night or it seemed like it and asked if I wanted to go fishing.  I said "Yes". At that time I'm not sure what fishing was. We got to a lake and Dad rented a boat and took his old outboard motor out of the trunk and we went fishing.  Soon after, I fell asleep.  Not sure how long I was sleeping,  then Dad was yelling, "Ronnie, Ronnie, you have a bite."  I grabbed the fishing pole and quickly reeled in a fish and realized that it tangled with another fish and got two instead of one. What a mess for Dad, but he was excited me too. Someday we'll be fishing again Dad. Miss you and love you.

I had a lot of fun memories with my grandfather. Going to the cabin was the best. I am going to be the "BOSS" from now on. Grandpa you will be missed but never forgotten. I love you

Grandpa taught me all my favorite card games and would regularly play them with me: kings in the corner, crazy eights, gin, etc. Some of my friends didn't know how to play them at first, but now we play them all the time when we have a moment. So thanks Grandpa, we'll keep spreading your love of card games around. I'll see you again someday and when I do I'll challenge you to a game of gin! For now, thanks for the memories, you've been there for birthday parties, band concerts and even prom :) I'm so blessed to have had such wonderful grandparents being so involved in my life.  Love, Bethany

A FINAL TRIBUTE TO MY DAD

The day of the funeral we just had 3 minutes to say a few words about my dad.  Skip said he would tell a story or two as he knew I would be a puddle.  My intention was to play a game of WHEEL OF FORTUNE (a game my parents enjoyed watching) as we took a look at my dad's final stringer of fish.  This stringer had 7 fish; each fish represented a letter, spelling out his passion in life.    FISHING

F   represented his love for his FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

I INVENTOR as he was a problem solver, creating from his stash of supplies in the garage or basement at home or from shed number 3,2 or 1 at the cabin, or the garage or lean-to .  We all have something that he made just for us I am sure.

S which left me during the service was for SELFLESS; our dad was all about the underdog, those around him, always asking how our children and friends were doing when we were together.  Even in death, he allowed us all to say good-bye and held our mom in his arms with multiple needles still in place.

H HANDYMAN or JACK-0F-ALL-TRADES, our Dad could repair or build just about anything, and he did.  I don't ever remember a repair man coming to our house or him taking a vehicle in for repairs.  He was there for all of us with his hammer, paintbrush, wrench, knife, plans on scraps of paper etc

I ICECREAM for his insatiable sweet tooth, and at the end his secret code for wanting to take a road trip.

N NO REGRETS we all have a ton of memories, we have all lived life to its fullest with our Dad, Gpa, Great Gpa, Brother, Uncle, Friend etc. at his house, cabin, our homes, the farm etc.

G GRANDCHILDREN our dad became a Gpa 35 years ago, teaching his grandchildren the fine art of fishing, 500, love for crossword puzzles, puzzles and sharing his life through countless stories of his youth.  He attended school programs, birthday parties, graduations etc.  He was there for and enjoyed each and every grandchild. 
 
G GONE FISHING in heaven with Jesus in the boat, catching his limit daily with his brothers and others who have gone before him.

We will now continue on without him, which will be tricky at times.  We will miss him because we loved him, and he loved us.  Thanks again Dad, until we see you again, we will continue to do our BEST and try to catch a fish or two without you.

We are so sorry to hear of the passing of Herman.  He was a wonderful neighbor, who always had a smile to share.

My deepest sympathies. I've Known the Nelson family nearly my entire life. I'll always have very fond memories of Mr.Nelson. Going to the cabin, going fishing with him and Roxanne. I'll miss seeing him at the cabin, or when I come over to visit, and seeing what Halloween costume he would be wearing each year. Always a smile on his face. I hope Heaven is full of fishing, and casino games, or as he would call them, Pinball games. You will truly be missed! All my love and prayers to all of you.

Herman will be missed by so many people. He always had a smile and a kind word to say. Rest in Peace and prayers to the family.
Penny (Poppy) Nielsen

Jack and I are so sorry to hear of the passing of your husband and father.  He will be missed by so many neighbors, former neighbors and all friends.  Jack has so memories of going fishing with Herman.

Although I've never met you in person, I quite feel like I know you as Becky brags you up all the time.  I know you will be dearly missed...Becky, Skip and family....sending love and prayers.

Wonderful pictures.  What a tribute.   It hurts to lose a parent. You were so blessed to have had him in your lives so fully and for so long.  My family wishes, your family, love in abundance at this time.  A special BIG hug to Mrs. Nelson...so very sorry for your loss.

Thank you Herman for being such a great neighbor and part of my life, I will always have wonderful memories of you growing up.  I will miss you so much.

sorry for your loss. thoughts and prayers are with you.  he was a really good man.

Becky and family,
While I never knew your Dad, it is a pleasure working with the caring, considerate daughter he raised.  Remember Jesus is holding your family in his loving arms.

We will miss Herman so much. Shirley, thinking of you all the time. I'm so glad you have such a wonderful family to help you through this difficult time. See you soon. Your neighbors, Dave, Denise, Claire, + William Wickiser

Roxanne I am so sorry for your loss. Having just lost my own dad, I understand your grieve. Rejoice in the memories, his long life and the love he gave you. You will be in my prayers.

So sorry for your loss.  Such a loving and giving man.  My heart is heavy!

Herman was like a father to Dennis. It was wonderful keeping in touch since we moved to Florida 9 years ago. Will continue to keep in touch with Shirley. So glad we got to see Herman & Shirley when we came back to MN for My sisters' funeral in February. Sometimes good things from otherwise bad times. We will miss you, Herman.

OBITUARY

Herman Nelson

September 29, 1926 – October 21, 2014

Wulff Funeral Home

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