Funeral Services for Daniel Dene Nelson, age 66, of Magnolia, MN, were held Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at Bethany Lutheran Church in Luverne, MN. Burial followed at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne. Daniel died peacefully on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at the Sanford Luverne Hospice Cottage in Luverne. Daniel was born on March 20, 1952 to Harry and Annabelle (DeBooy) Nelson in Adrian, MN. He was raised in the house he would live in most of his life, in Magnolia, MN. As a child, Dan enjoyed spending time cooking in the kitchen with his mom and by most accounts, he was a mama’s boy. He also enjoyed hunting for night crawlers and riding bike with the other kids around town. His chores included picking strawberries and raspberries as well as weeding the garden. Dan attended school in town and graduated from Magnolia High School with the Bulldog Class of 1970. Following his graduation, he attended and completed the culinary program at Mitchell Vocational School in Mitchell, SD. His professional career included working as a chef at Izatys in Mille Lacs, MN; the Matador Supper Club and Lounge in Ortonville, MN; the Calumet Inn in Pipestone, MN; the Green Lantern in Hardwick, MN; the Holiday Inn in Worthington, MN; the University of Sioux Falls, SD; Country Kitchen in Luverne, MN; and lastly, making pizzas at Casey’s General Store at the eastside location in Luverne. In 1991, Dan met Debra (Staeffler) DeRoo and on June 22, 1996 the couple married in the backyard of their home, in Magnolia. Later in life, Dan began losing the control of his fine motor skills in his hands. As a result, Dan became a counselor at Southwestern Youth Services in Magnolia. This job resulted in much more than a paycheck in return and he felt blessed to help the boys. In September 2018, Dan was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. On Thursday, February 28, 2019 he entered the Sanford Luverne Hospice Cottage where on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 he died peacefully at the age of 66 years, 11 months and 16 days.
Dan was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church in Luverne. For many years, he served as a volunteer on the Magnolia Fire Department. During life, he continued a love for gardening, both vegetables and flowers, and mowed many yards in Magnolia. He enjoyed traveling and going for drives in his El Camino. He was known as a jokester and loved to sit, visit and reminisce about old times. Dan was known for being a master of starting big projects, however, there were many of them that he wouldn’t follow through on. He was also always known for fixing food for the Nelson family reunions. A forever favorite by many will be his prime rib and chocolate dump cake.
Dan is lovingly remembered by his wife, Deb of Magnolia, MN; five step-children, Tracy (Greg) Branderhorst of Half Way, MO; Terry DeRoo of Beaver Creek, MN; Daniel (Beth) DeRoo of Round Lake, MN; Amy (Joe) Cernohous of River Falls, WI, and Jessica (Chad) Barnett of Hardwick, MN; 14 step-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Carol Nelson of Luverne, MN; and other family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Annabelle; and two siblings, Myrna Nelson and Norman Nelson.
Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne is handling the arrangements.
