Delores Johnson

Delores J. Johnson died peacefully at Knute Nelson Home on June 12, 2011. Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 25, 2011 at 11:00 at Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m. before the service. Delores was born on November 20, 1926 to parents Harold F. Johnson and Annie J. D. Olsen ? Johnson at home in Nelson, Minnesota. She was baptized and confirmed at Our Saviour?s Lutheran Church in Nelson. Delores grew up in Nelson, the middle of 5 siblings, attending Nelson School until 8th grade graduation. She had a paper route, enjoyed church activities, ice skating behind the creamery, and spending time with her grandparents who lived at the Nelson corner. She graduated from Alexandria High School in 1944. Soon after graduation, Delores traveled by train to Washington, D.C. to work at the Navy Department during WWII as a research assistant. One of the highlights of her time there was receiving a personal invitation and attending Franklin D. Roosevelt?s last inauguration in 1945. After the war, Delores worked at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford, later returning to Minnesota, where she lived for the rest of her life. Delores enjoyed hobbies and handcrafts. She had fond childhood memories of creating projects for the Nelson School Fair. She continued learning new crafts, with Hardanger, quilting, and knitting being her favorites. She loved giving hand crafted items as gifts to her family. There still are baby sweaters and blankets knit for future generations. Scandinavian heritage and an interest in genealogy also brought great enjoyment to Delores?s life. She was of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish descent, and loved celebrating this ancestry with special baking, craft projects and study. In 1999, she traveled to those countries, visiting the farms and sites where her grandparents and great-grandparents had been born, and meeting many relatives. Delores is survived by her children Michael Nelson and wife Cyndi, Taryn Nelson Flolid and husband Charles Flolid, Tracy Nelson and husband Tom Mastellar, grandchildren Andrea Flolid Lundgren (Stefan), Alexander Mastellar and Arielle Mastellar, and great grandchildren Haylie and Alice Lundgren. She is also survived by her sister Frances Engstrom, brother-in-law Stanley Max, several cousins, nieces and nephews. Delores was preceded in death by husbands Lester A. Nelson, Lloyd E. Johnson, her parents, siblings June Hanson, Marna Max and James H. Johnson. Memorials preferred to the family to be used for different organizations that were important to Delores.