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James Nesius
JAMES A. NESIUS, was born June 25, 1945, in Lafayette, Indiana, to Leo and Hilda
Nesius. He attended school at Lake Crystal and Wells, Minnesota. He graduated from
Wells High School in 1963 and earned a B.S. in Chemistry at Northern Arizona
University in Flagstaff in 1968. He taught Mathematics at Swanville High School, MN,
before entering the U. S. Navy. He met Karen O’Neil, English teacher and librarian,
there. They were married at Sacred Heart in Waseca on April 12, 1969. In May of that
year he went to Officer Candidate School at Newport, R.I., and following his
commissioning he served on the USS El Paso in Norfolk, VA. Later he served on
PHIBRON 2 staff on the USS Shreveport also out of Norfolk. Following his discharge in
August of 1972 he taught at Hawley High School as chemistry, physics, calculus, and
computer teacher. He earned a Professional Fifth Year degree from Moorhead State
University. Following 28 years of teaching at Hawley, he retired from there in 2000 but
continued his career at Park Christian School, Moorhead, MN, as chemistry, physics,
and calculus teacher. He retired from Park Christian in 2007 and had already begun
another career as board member and eventually Chairman of the Board of Wells
Concrete Products, a company that was co-founded by his father. He was on his way to
a Board meeting when the car accident occurred on September 20 in Becker County.
Jim was a man of many interests. His huge garden produced a bounty of vegetables
which he happily shared. He was a hunter of pheasants, ducks, and deer. He was a
fisherman of sunnies (with his granddaughters); salmon in Alaska with many friends,
family, and business associates; and walleye and perch with neighbors, family, and
friends. Jim loved woodworking and had recently focused on furniture. Fall was his
favorite time of year.
The focus of Jim’s life was teaching-------and before he could teach, he had to learn.
He was especially interested in environmental, biology, chemistry, and physics topics.
In addition he was an avid reader of biographies, Civil War, and WW II history. He
enjoyed any nature or history program on PBS. Visiting his sons was important to
him. His four granddaughters were a special joy-----funny stories, fishing, gardening,
soccer, piano lessons were all sources of pleasure for him to see these young ladies
grow and learn. His many students through the years were sources of tremendous
pride and satisfaction. One told him, “I never knew what an engineer was until I took
your class and now I am one.”
Jim had been part of the Gideons, Lake Park Lutheran Church Council, and served as
4-H leader during the years his sons were members. He had a penchant for writing:
newsletters, stories, and his legendary Christmas letters which were seldom short but
always entertaining. His students and everyone he touched recognized that his
teaching did not end with academic topics. He enjoyed including “life lessons” and
encouragement to all he knew.
He is survived by his wife Karen of Lake Park, sons Robert (Michelle) Beaverton, OR,
and Samuel (Annette) Fargo; Grandchildren:Michaela, Isabel, Davin, Katie Nesius. He is also survived by brothers Mark (Sharon) Good Thunder, MN; Brian (Laurie) Sauk
Rapids, MN; John (Denise) Lake Ridge, VA; sisters Jean Dusbabek, Ft. Myers, FL;
Lucy (Lenny) Franklin, NC; Annette (Jerry) Stubben, Pueblo West, CO; Paula (Bob)
Lawler, Bemidji, MN; Mary (Brian) Sader, Good Thunder, MN; sister-in-law Pat (Frank)
Demonte, Grayslake, IL; brothers-in-law Jim (Jan) O’Neil, Faribault, MN; Jon (Vicky)
O’Neil, Waseca, MN; Dan O’Neil, Waseca, MN; Mike (Judy) O’Neil, Waseca, MN, and
Tim (Karen) O’Neil, New Ulm, MN; stepmother Dorothy Nesius, Ft. Myers, FL; many
nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents Leo and Hilda Nesius; brother David Nesius,
Wells, MN; in-laws Dallas and Dorothy O’Neil, Waseca, MN; nephew Shea O’Neil,
Waseca, MN, sister-in-law Lori O’Neil, Sleepy Eye, MN, and brother-in-law, Richard Dusbabek, Ft. Myers, FL.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00am on Friday, September 30, 2016 at St. John Lutheran Church, with Rev. John Omans officiating. Visitation will be held for one hour before the service at the church. Interment will follow at Woodville Cemetery in Waseca. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to a charity of choice are encouraged. dennisfuneralhomes.com |
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