Deanna Nelson

On Thursday, June 19, 2025, Deanna Kay (Larson) Nelson passed away at CCM Health in Montevideo from early onset Alzheimer’s dementia at the age of 71.

Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Grace Lutheran Church in Dawson with Pastor Kendall Stelter and Pastor Pat Moe officiating.

Visitation will be held at the church for one hour before the service.

Deanna Kay Larson was born in Canby, Minnesota, on July 29, 1953, to Orville and Maxine Larson. Maxine told Deanna that she was named after Deanna Durban who was a Canadian-born American soprano and actress. Deanna’s early years were spent near Burr, Minnesota, where her parents farmed. She loved all animals and enjoyed spending those years on the farm with her sisters. Her four sisters (Patty, Lynn, Sandy and Amy) were all blonde, and Deanna was a brunette like her mom. She would always tease her sisters that she was Orville’s favorite. She really was!

She was confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church in Dawson. She graduated from Dawson High School in 1971. Deanna had a lot of fun in high school (sometimes too much fun) with her best friends, which included Marcia, Cindy, Carol and many others.

On October 30, 1971 (the day before Halloween), she married the love of her life, James “Jim” Stanley Nelson. They lived in many different homes, especially those first few years before their girls were born. They enjoyed “flipping houses” before it was a thing. Deanna became very proficient at packing up a home and unpacking it, sometimes in the same day. In 1983, they moved to St. Cloud so that Jim could attend school and pursue a new career. The next stop was Walnut Grove. Deanna always said that Walnut Grove was her favorite place to live. Over the next 40 years, Deanna and Jim moved many, many times including moves to Cokato, back to Dawson, Appleton, rural Morris, back to Appleton and Big Stone City. They eventually made their way back to Dawson. In 2013, they built a new home just outside of town, and this is the longest that they have ever lived in one home.

Deann and Jim were blessed with two beautiful daughters Krista Eve (1978) and Dana Nichole (1983). When the girls were growing up, Deanna stayed home with them. She did in-home daycare, which she enjoyed. After the girls were both in school, she worked a variety of jobs, which she loved. She worked in a couple of grocery stores. She also worked in retail and managed The Dollar Store in Appleton. One of the things she loved about The Dollar Store was getting “surprise” truckloads of merchandise. She enjoyed organizing, displaying and selling these treasures. Wherever Deanna worked, she made lifelong friends. Years later if her name was mentioned, people would comment that she “was so nice and fun to work with”.

Deanna enjoyed mowing, especially after retirement. Yes, she loved to mow! She also looked forward to annual trips to Lou’s to buy flowers, which she loved to plant. Watching and feeding birds was another hobby she enjoyed. Deanna also loved rocking babies. One of the things she could be heard saying was “I love rocking babies, but we don’t want any more!” Deanna was a strong but soft-hearted woman who loved everyone in her immediate and extended family.

Deanna is survived by her husband James “Jim” and their beloved dog Sammie; their daughters Krista (Matt) Freiberg of Spicer, Minnesota, Dana (Danny) Lien of Holcomb, Mississippi; grandchildren Kaitlin (Conner), Eli (Rileigh), John, Jaidyn, Kayle, Hannah, Abigail; great-grandchildren Iris and Aria and “baby girl Wold” who will arrive in November of 2025; sisters Lynn (Tim) Hilde, Sandy (Bob) Pehrson and Amy (David) Dahl; in-laws Bob Lahl, David (Janet) Nelson, Mary Engebretson, Linda Hickman, Stevie (Sue) Nelson, Dale Nelson, Cindy (Kevin) Tol and Peter Nelson; several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews and a circle of extended family and friends who will always cherish Deanna’s laugh and kind heart.

Those who entered heaven before her include her parents (Orville and Maxine Larson), her sister Patty Lahl and her grandparents Martin and Olga Larson and George and Cora Laabs.

Bless the life and the memories of our wife, mom, grandma, great-grandma, sister, sister-in-law and “auntie”.