Janet Nelson

Mankato Mortuary
1001 North Riverfront Drive
Mankato, Minnesota 56001
507-388-2202

Janet Nelson, age 87, of Mankato, died January 6, 2014 at Mayo Clinic Health System.

Memorial Mass will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, January 11, 2014 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church with Fr. John Kunz officiating. A private family burial will be held at Calvary Cemetery in Mankato. Visitation will be from 4:00 " 7:00 pm Friday, January 10 at Mankato Mortuary and continue one hour prior to the service at church. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Clara and John Haefner Scholarship Fund in care of Schola.

Janet was born February 18, 1926 in Mankato to John and Clara (Scheurer) Haefner. She attended Mankato Catholic Schools, graduating from Loyola High School in 1944. She married George Nelson March 2, 1946. In 1958, Janet and George moved to a farm located between Mankato and Lake Crystal, where they raised 5 children. In 1976, they moved to North Mankato.

Janet was an active member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Lake Crystal and Holy Rosary Church in North Mankato. She was a lifelong member of The Lardie Ladies, a Wednesday morning coffee group which spanned 6 decades. Janet and George loved playing cards and attending dances in the area. Janet was an avid gardener, seamstress, quilter and life-long reader. She was always ready to learn something new.

Janet is survived by her children, Richard (Ann) Nelson of Mankato, Gigi (Mike) Portner of New Ulm, Kay (Dean) Wagner of St. Cloud, Gary (Cindy) of Rochester, and Marie (Tom) Schutter of Truman ; thirteen grandchildren, Mike (Donna) Nelson of Fairbanks, AK, Lisa (Aaron) Possis of Eagan, Steve (fianc"e, Jessica Blum) Nelson of Saratoga Springs, NY, Catherine Nelson of New Haven, CT, Mary Nelson (special friend, Thor Bjork, and his daughters Ella and Maddie) of Minneapolis, Clare (Ben) Patterson of Madison Lake, Carrie (Garrett) Singer of Madison Lake, Betsy (Jacob) VanScoy of Eagan, Sara (Mike) Verlo of Apple Valley, David Nelson of Rochester, Patrick Schutter of Fairmont, Jack (Chelsea) Schutter of Baltimore, MD, and Steven (Tiffany) Schutter of Oceanside, CA; eight great-grandchildren, Jack and Beckett Possis, Vivian Patterson, Ava and Logan Singer, Lucy and Max VanScoy and Liam Schutter; two brothers, George (Anne) and Eddie (Jean); three sisters, Dee (Ron) Wright, Ruth Haefner and Audrey (Dewey) Mettler; sisters-in-law, Donna Haefner, Nila Haefner and Phyllis Haefner; and many nieces and nephews.

Janet was preceded in death by her husband, George; seven brothers, Ralph, Les, Clair, Stan, Denis, Walt and Harry; two sisters, Mary Kudrle and Angie Bruns.