Milfred “Miffy” Nelson

Friday, December 8, 2023 4:49 am

Milfred Nelson, age 93, of Decorah, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, at Aase Haugen Home in Decorah.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 12, at Decorah Lutheran Church, 309 Winnebago Street, Decorah, with Rev. Peter Kowitz presiding. Burial will follow at the Preston Veteran Cemetery in Preston, Minn. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service at the church on Tuesday morning.

Miffy was born June 29, 1930, to Adolf and Doris (Rank) Nelson in Black Hammer, Minn. He was one of 14 children and attended Black Hammer Schools. Milfred was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War in England. Miffy met Elida “Joan” Lien while working for a lumbering company on the Wold family farm, just north of Decorah. The couple later were married on November 25, 1954. To this union, three boys were born: Michael, Mark, and Ronald. The couple raised their family in the Decorah area. Miffy worked as the head mechanic at Peterson Sales and Service for many years. Later, he went on to be the head mechanic and bus driver at the Decorah Community School bus barn. During his years as the head mechanic, he also owned and operated his own business, Nelson Repair. And since that wasn’t enough work, he would also drive a mail truck to Lacrosse, WI, overnight. He retired from the bus barn as a bus driver at 83 years old.

Everyone in Decorah knew Miffy as the Allis-Chalmers tractor guy. He lived and breathed these tractors, having owned many, and searched for more to restore and fix for anyone. He was always a very hard worker, but when he wasn’t working, he was playing cards, spending time with his family, or looking for animals to love on. He always had dog treats in his car so he could entice all the canines to jump in for petting. Miffy looked forward to spending time fishing and would go on annual fishing trips to Canada with many friends and his grandson. Milfred loved his community and all the people he made friendships with over his blessed life.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 69 years, Elida Joan; his sons Micheal Nelson, Mark (Cathy Lensch) Nelson, and Ronald (Rebecca Agee) Nelson; grandchildren: Adam Nelson, Brittany (Jacob) Holst, Cassandra Nelson, and Olivia Nelson; and great-grandson Leroy Holst.