MARGARET ADELIA NELSON

One of the last remaining Matanuska Colonists, Margaret Adelia Nelson, died June 25, 2010, at Harbor View Manor in Wasilla. She was 97.

A Christian service will be held at Manna Baptist Church in Palmer at 1 p.m. Thursday. Burial service will follow at Palmer Pioneer Cemetery. Pastor Steve Cardin will officiate.

Mrs. Nelson was born March 27, 1913, in Mountain, Wis., to Edward and Melina Church. After high school, she received her teaching certificate and taught in a one-room schoolhouse until she married her soulmate and best friend, Paul Nelson, in Riverview, Wis., on Nov. 4, 1933.

In May 1935, Mrs. Nelson traveled with her husband and 8-month-old daughter, Norma, to the Matanuska Valley to begin a new and exciting life as Colonists. After selecting their parcel from a hat, the young couple struggled and endured the isolation and hardship of the wilderness to create a beautiful and successful dairy farm at the Butte.

In 1970, the Nelsons retired and moved to Wasilla to continue a full and active life, using their talents and unique abilities to build a warm and inviting home. Mrs. Nelson enjoyed traveling, gardening, needlework and her church.

“Margaret was a wonderful mother and grandmother,” her family wrote. “Her faith and gentle sprit will always be loved and missed by her large family and many friends.”

Mrs. Nelson is survived by her children, Norma Marshall, Ruth Bailey, Rita Colver and Janice Swartzbacker, all of Wasilla, and Pauline Standifer of Silver Springs, Texas; grandchildren; 48 great-grandchildren; 19 great-great-grandchildren and an extended family of sons-in-law, nephews, nieces, and sister-in-law, Ruth Moonier.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Paul; daughter, Sylvia Wolf, and her parents, brothers, one sister and two grandchildren.

Arrangements were with Valley Funeral Home in Wasilla.