Donald Nelson

1930 - 2025

Don Nelson, 95, of rural Newport Township in Columbia County, died peacefully on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at St. Clare Care & Rehab Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin. He will be deeply missed by all who had the good fortune to know him.

Donald Palmer Nelson was born in Portage, Wisconsin, on September 23, 1930, the third child of Palmer H. Nelson and Grace Ellen (Ogle) Nelson. He lived an idyllic childhood on the family's farm, a few miles east of what was then Kilbourn City but renamed Wisconsin Dells in 1931. Don's father and mother had established one of the area's first herds of registered Holsteins. A large extended family, most of whom farmed adjoining acreage, doted on Donald. Some of his favorite memories included birthday gatherings, summer picnics, and festive holidays. At the community's one-room schoolhouse, Stearns School, Donald most enjoyed the Christmas programs, Arbor Day outings, and occasional tricks played on the teacher. On most days, Donald rode his pony to school, or a good-natured uncle would ferry him by car in especially bitter weather.

In October 1943, thirteen-year-old Donald grieved the death of his brother, 1st Lt. John Gordon Nelson, a Bombardier/Navigator in the Army Air Force, who was killed in action during a mission over Europe.

After graduating from Wisconsin Dells High School in 1948, Don spent a few months working in the Milwaukee area, but he soon returned to the farm. He must have been born at just the right time in a tumultuous century, for nobody had more fun in their 20s than Don. With his Newport buddies Otto Christopherson, Eddie Gregerson, Gus Nevar, and Delbert Anderson, among others, Don hunted, went to movies and dances, and played pool at Otto's Tavern. He joked that he also fit in "a little farming" with his father during those years.

As a seven-year-old, Donald "met" Anita when his classmate, and Anita's older brother, Otto, invited Donald to his house to see his "new baby sister." Later, Don would joke that the encounter was "love at first sight," even if he had to wait for Anita to return home from college two decades later to ask her out on a date. Don and Anita wed on December 26, 1961, at Bethany Lutheran Church in Wisconsin Dells. Don recalled how neighbors packed the nearly-empty house for the reception, a farmhouse the couple would call home for the next 63 years.

Don and Anita built a full life together on their farm, raising four children, establishing progressive farming techniques, and involving themselves in current events: community issues, environmental concerns, and political causes.

Don served on the Newport Town Board, including as Town Chair for two decades. In the late 1970s, he won his first election to the Columbia County Board of Supervisors and was re-elected repeatedly over the next thirty years. As a tireless advocate of family farms and fair pricing systems, Don became a leader in the Wisconsin Farmers Union, serving on the state board for several terms, attending state and national conventions as a delegate, and working as a local leader at the county level.

Don and Anita never shied away from using their voices on behalf of the public good, insisting that short-term monetary gains mean nothing if the result is environmental degradation. To that end, Don and Anita were the lead plaintiffs in Nelson v. the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources when the City of Wisconsin Dells sited a landfill on 80 sandy acres in Newport Township despite residents' concerns about zoning infractions and potential groundwater pollution from the unlined pit. In a 1982 ruling, the State Supreme Court of Appeals upheld Columbia County's original zoning decision, and soon after, the City of Wisconsin Dells abandoned the site.

Around this time, in the mid-70s, Don and Anita suffered the loss of their entire dairy herd in a barn fire. They turned the care of the surviving heifers over to farming friends in Rice, Minnesota, until they could reestablish the dairy a few years later.

In the late 1990s, Don was a vocal opponent of the Nestlé Corporation's attempt to site a spring water extraction and bottling operation for their Ice Mountain label in neighboring New Haven Township. He saw the massive project as a threat to the area's watershed, habitat, and agriculture. Forming the Concerned Citizens of Newport, Don's family and neighbors fought a two-year, multi-pronged PR and legal battle. Don's commonsense voice, town board leadership, and legal investments proved instrumental in Ice Mountain's eventual abandonment of the project.

Nothing tickled Don like a good Ole and Lena joke, and he told some of the best. He was a charter member of the Sons of Norway's Vakkertland Lodge (later, Mandt Lodge), and in the late 1980s, Don supported Anita's dream of developing a Scandinavian farm B&B and restaurant just outside of Wisconsin Dells. Though he didn't manage day-to-day operations, Thunder Valley Inn's employees and farmers market vendors remember "Pop's" regular visits to talk, buy produce, and enjoy one of Anita's fresh cinnamon rolls -- or two!

Fiercely interested in politics, Don and Anita regularly welcomed local, state, and national Democratic candidates' campaigns to the farm. Don proudly supported former Senator Russ Feingold's first bid for office when, as a 29-year-old, Feingold beat a long-serving incumbent Republican. State and national campaigns made their visits to the farm, from Governor Tony Evers and Senator Tammy Baldwin to the 2004 Democratic VP candidate. One of Don's favorite progressive activists was the late Ed Garvey, whose law firm assisted in the Perrier fight.

Though Don never traveled outside the United States, the world came to his doorstep when he and Anita began hosting international agricultural students in the early 1970s. More than 150 college-aged students lived and worked on the farm through various educational and cultural exchanges over 40 years. Don loved visiting with these young people, discussing their countries' agricultural practices and policies in comparison to those of the United States. Don also appreciated the students' return visits to the farm -- sometimes years later, with their children and families in tow.

In 2016, Don and Anita received a Community Builder Award, and in 2018, they were inducted into the Wisconsin Dells Education Foundation Hall of Fame, recognitions that meant a great deal to them.

Don enjoyed deer hunting and actively farming with his two sons until his 90th year, but as his health weakened, he found time for a new routine: reading periodicals, watching the birds, completing jigsaw puzzles, keeping up with politics on C-Span, MSNBC, and PBS, playing cards, and following Wisconsin sports. Perhaps his greatest joy, however, was in talking with the steady stream of visitors to the farm while Anita kept everyone's coffee cups filled. In the late afternoons, Anita often took Don for car rides, and they would reminisce about the people and places of their shared childhoods, ending the trip by pulling through Culver's drive-up window for custard cones. Anita took Don for a final drive on Sunday, September 21, two days before his 95th birthday. For three hours, he toured the farms and fields of Newport with his two daughters and a granddaughter. It was a crisp, sunny day, and there was a lot of laughter and storytelling in that crowded sedan.

Don is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Anita (Christopherson) Nelson, as well as his four devoted children: Peter John Nelson (Toril Nelson), Nels Christopher Nelson (Sarah Lloyd), Kari Bjorg Nelson (Steven Argo), and Sigrid Nelson Helland (Patrick Helland). Six beautiful and accomplished grandchildren survive him: Ingrid Nelson, Edith Nelson, Solveig Nelson Argo, Vannetta Grace Helland, Oliver Patrick Helland, and Beatrice May Helland. He is further survived by his sister-in-law, Joan Christopherson Schmidt, and his beloved nieces and nephews and their families: Conrad Mayer, David Mayer, Steven Mayer, and Mary Moore; Ingrid Beyer, Olaf Christopherson, Amy Christopherson, and Anne Le Piane; Kristin Schmidt. In recent years, "Uncle Don" was especially appreciative of his nephew Erik Schmidt's kindness.

Don is also survived by loving and loyal friends -- in particular, William Lyman Veech, Hiroshi and Arlene Kanno, and Mel and Darlene Hackett.

Don was preceded in death by his parents and brother, a beloved sister, Grace Lorraine Mayer, as well as several wonderful brothers- and sisters-in-law: Otto Norman Christopherson and his wife, Marian (Sampson) Christopherson; Frederick "Fritz" Schmidt; and Conrad Mayer. Don was preceded in death by an infant granddaughter, Josafin Lloyd-Nelson.

Don's family extends a sincere thank-you to the caring staff of Baraboo's St. Clare Care & Rehab Center, Oak Park Place, and St. Clare Hospital, as well as Picha Funeral Home. In particular, the family is deeply grateful to Chaplain Kay Hallanger for her friendship and emotional support.

Memorials in Don's honor can be made to Wisconsin Farmers Union's Kamp Kenwood, Columbia County Democrats, Dells Country Historical Society, or to the Newport Evangelical Lutheran Church to support the upkeep of its historic cemetery.

A final note: Pop insisted he did not want a funeral service, but his family is certain he would have appreciated his loved ones -- near and far -- celebrating his 95 years with a local fish fry, a Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet, and a good Ole & Lena story.

We love you, Pop. Rest in peace.