Obituaries

Emily May Nielsen (Klinkhammer), age 88, passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 21, 2024, at her home in Madison, WI, with her son, Fr. Eric, and daughter, Constance, by her side.

Emily was born on October 13, 1936, in Cogswell, North Dakota, to Bernard and Myrtle (Wight) Klinkhammer. She grew up on the family farm without electricity or running water, but with three brothers and two sisters, along with the horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens. Following the death of her mother in 1949, and the remarriage of her father to Lorretta Gierl, her family grew with the addition of seven stepsiblings and a half-brother.

In 1952, the farm was sold and the Klinkhammer clan moved to Abbotsford, WI, where Emily graduated from Abbotsford High School in 1954 and went on to attend St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Marshfield, WI. While a nursing student, she was swept off her feet by a brash young man named Harold Reed Nielsen, of Oshkosh, WI, and they were married at St. Bernard’s Church in Abbotsford on August 19, 1957.

Emily and Harold settled down in Oshkosh with Emily working as a nurse at Mercy Medical Center. At the birth of her first child, she stayed home and dedicated herself to canning, sewing, baking, and entertaining her children with bedtimes stories and songs on the guitar. It was many years before her children even knew that store bought bread or fruit in a tin can existed, though they did know the collected works of EB White. When her children grew older, she returned part time to Mercy Medical Center, primarily as an OB nurse. Her children fondly remember visiting her at work and being allowed to look at the newborn babies behind the glass window.

In 1995, Harold was diagnosed with cancer and passed away shortly afterwards on June 15, leaving Emily alone in the large house on Apple Lane that he had built for her. With her retirement, she decided it was too much to handle alone and was welcomed into the home of her daughter Kris in Minneapolis, MN, and later in Isanti, MN.

In 2013, Emily decided to move back to Wisconsin to be with her youngest daughter, Constance. They settled into a house on Madison’s north side. They were great companions, and many enjoyed the hospitality of their back porch where “what was said on the porch, stayed on the porch.” As the years passed and Emily began to decline into dementia, Connie made sure her mother could enjoy her last years in her own home and lovingly nursed her until her final days.

Emily is preceded in death by her husband, Harold Reed Nielsen; her sisters and brothers-in-law, Mildred (Henry) Wilberts and Jean (John) Lindberg; stepbrother, Peter Gierl; stepsister and brother-in-law, Mary (Keith) Zimmerman; stepsister, Patricia Smeaton; sister-in-law, Doris Klinkhammer; and brother-in-law, James Dennis.

She is survived by her children, Fr. Eric Nielsen of Berlin, WI, Daniel Nielsen of Jackson, WY, Kristine (Nicholas) Dimassis of Beloit, WI, Joseph (Martha) Nielsen of Madison, WI, Jean Marie (Frank) McKearn of Beloit, WI, Constance Nielsen of Madison, WI, and Samuel (Vikki) Nielsen of McFarland, WI; 14 grandchildren, Maddi, Emma (Tony), Alice, John, Connie, Peter, Sam, Annie, Frank IV, Daniel, Gabriel, Joseph, Fran, and Katie. She is also survived by her brothers, Wayne Klinkhammer, Dan (Aleta) Klinkhammer, David (Marianne) Klinkhammer, and Paul (Peggy) Klinkhammer; as well as her stepsisters, Dorothy (Alan) Grandbois, Barbara Dennis, Judith (John) Lewis, and Victoria (Charles) Palecek; brother-in-law Darrel Smeaton; and many dear in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. And Mr. Boonie from California.

A vigil will be held for Emily from 4-8 pm, with a short service at 8 pm, on Friday, December 27, 2024, at Ryan Funeral Home, 2418 N. Sherman Ave., Madison, WI. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 am on Saturday, December 28, at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 5001 N. Sherman Ave., Madison, WI, the Reverend Jared Holzhuter presiding. Following the Mass, interment will be held at 2:30 pm in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Oshkosh, WI, with a lunch to follow at La Sure’s.

Memorials for mass intentions are appreciated.

To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com.

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services

2418 N. Sherman Avenue

608-249-8257