Raymond Nelson, age 91 of Balaton, passed away Thursday, January 7, 2016 at Morningside Heights in Marshall. Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 12 at Sillerud Lutheran Church, rural Balaton. Visitation is 4:00-7:00 p.m. Monday at the church with a prayer services at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue one hour prior to services on Tuesday. Burial is in Sillerud Lutheran Cemetery.

Raymond Lawrence Nelson was born April 28, 1924 to Lawrence and Minnie (Miller) Nelson in Skandia Township, south of Balaton, Minnesota. He was baptized, confirmed, married, and buried at Sillerud Lutheran Church, rural Balaton. Ray attended country school in Skandia Township. On December 27, 1947 Ray married Fern Johnson at Sillerud. They were blessed with five daughters and almost 59 years of marriage. They farmed and lived in Skandia Township until 1991 when they moved into Balaton. Ray served his church in many ways for many years. Ray and Fern were Luther League counselors for almost 30 years. He will be remembered by many as the bell-ringer. He was a member of the Balaton Ministerial Association, the Lion’s Club, and the Cancer Support Group of Tyler. Ray loved spending time with his family. His five daughters blessed him with 17 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren and one on the way in a few weeks, and three great-great-grandchildren. Ray enjoyed music and he was a singer. He sang in the church choir for 67 years and for hundreds of weddings and funerals of families and friends throughout his life. He enjoyed going to music shows that were in the area, such as the Old Time Fiddlers. Vacations were spent visiting his children and all the other relatives from the West coast to the East coast, rarely missing a graduation or a wedding. Ray lived in Balaton until April of 2015 when he moved to Heritage Pointe in Marshall. On October 15, he was admitted to the hospital and then admitted to the Transitions unit of Morningside Heights Care Center in Marshall. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on October 26 and admitted to hospice. On Monday, January 4, Ray suffered a stroke and on January 7, he passed quietly to his mansion in heaven.

Ray is remembered by his five daughters: Linda Nelson of Marshall, Linette (Bob) Fricke of Balaton, Loretta (Larry) Mead of Marshall, Lela (Fred) Rael of Kingman, AZ, and Laurel (Rick) Meyenburg of Montevideo: grandchildren: Teresa Ourada, Tracie Balsley, Troy Eisfeld, Thomas Eisfeld, Patrick Fricke, Jay Fricke, Ryan Fricke, Kelly Severson, Jennifer Hansen, Adam Mead, Valerie Danielson, Antonio Rael, Alicia Harkey, Aaron Rael, Angela Miller, Jarrod Miller, Jesse Gort, and spouses of grandchildren; 50 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; sisters: ElDora Pederson of Granite Falls and Louise Moe of Savage; and many other relatives and friends.   He is preceded in death by his wife, his parents, and a great cloud of witnesses.

Blessed be his memory.