Pearl Ardyce Nelson Hillrichs

Pearl Ardyce Nelson Hillrichs

Akron, Iowa

As the sun set on Friday, March 17, 2023, the Hillrichs family lost their beloved matriarch Pearl Ardyce (Nelson) Hillrichs, 91, following a brief but courageous battle with cancer. A kind, generous and adventurous woman, she will leave an enormous void in the hearts and memories of many, whether they called her mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, or friend.

Service to celebrate Pearl's long and eventful life will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 27, at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, 22543 C16, in rural Akron, Iowa. Immediately following, she will be laid to rest beside Marlin during graveside services at Riverside Cemetery in Akron. Arrangements are with Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Akron. To share a memory of Pearl, please visit www.rexwinkelfh.com.

Born on May 10, 1931, in Sioux City, Pearl was the eldest daughter of Peter and Astrid Nelson, both Scandinavian immigrants. She grew up in Sioux City, graduating from Central High School in 1949. She went on to attend comptometer school in Sioux City and then went to work in the business offices of Younker-Davidson's Department Store before joining Swift & Company in the city sales department.

In 1956, while attending a local dance, she met Marlin Hillrichs, a fellow Swift & Company employee who was to become the love of her life. They married on Aug. 24, 1957, at St. John Lutheran Church in Sioux City, and would go on to spend the next 64 years completely devoted to one another.

Pearl was a loving and dedicated mother to her four children, Julie, Cynthia, Douglas, and Susan, helping them to adjust to new schools and communities every few years as Marlin climbed the career ladder at Swift plants in Yakima, Wash.; Dumas, Texas; Grand Island, Neb.; Clovis, N.M.; and Des Moines, Iowa.

A talented seamstress, she spent countless hours as a young mother sewing dresses for herself and her three little girls and became a master at canning fresh fruits and vegetables to feed her growing family. She never missed a single little league baseball, pee wee football or high school basketball game, choir/band concert, or cheerleading/drill team performance.

A woman of profound faith, the church was ever present in Pearl's life, where she and Marlin sang in the choir and served on numerous committees. Her door was always open, and her friends and neighbors were always welcome at her dinner table.

The Christmas holiday season was particularly epic at the Hillrichs household where Pearl would spend weeks preparing her tasty fattigmann, krumkake, lefse and other Scandinavian delicacies to share with family and friends.

As they approached empty nesting, Pearl and Marlin found other pursuits to occupy their time, like gardening or boating and fishing at the closest lakes near their homes in Mitchell, Neb., and Westminster, Colo.

In 2001, Pearl and Marlin moved to San Antonio, Texas, to be closer to their four children and four grandchildren. They settled into retirement and traveled much of the continental United States in their motor home. They also visited Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico and 12 European countries, connecting with friends and family along the way.

Never one to be content with idleness, Pearl filled her days whipping up batches of baked goods for friends and family, participating in church activities at St. John Lutheran Church in Boerne, Texas, where she was a long-time member, and growing bumper crops of tomatoes, lemons, and oranges with Marlin in their back yard garden. Pearl and Marlin moved to McKinney, Texas, on April 4, 2022. Marlin passed away on April 15, 2022.

She is survived and missed dearly by her son, Douglas and wife Ingrid Hillrichs of Frisco, Texas, and their children, Jonathan of Frisco, Texas, and Luke of Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.; daughters, Julie Hillrichs of Frisco, Texas, Cynthia and husband Gus Rhodes of Marble Falls, Texas, and their daughter Mariah of Fayetteville, Ark., and Susan and husband Paul Rosenbluth of McKinney, Texas, and their daughter, Claire of Carrollton, Texas; brother, Edward Nelson of Des Moines, Iowa; brothers-in-law, Richard Hillrichs and wife Cherlyn of Plainview, Neb., and Kenneth Hillrichs of Akron; and numerous beloved nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends.

Pearl was preceded in death by her loving and ever adoring husband; mother and father, Peter and Astrid Nelson; sister, Carol Cadwell; mother- and father-in-law, Fred and Alma Hillrichs; brothers-in-law, Richard Cadwell and Paul Clarey; and sisters-in-law, Carol Clarey, Loretta Hillrichs and Judy Nelson.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift to St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, 22543 C16, in Akron, IA 51001.