Orville Nielsen

Funeral Services were held 10:30 A.M., Monday, April 16, 1990 at the Presbyterian United Church of Christ. Interment was held in the Fredericksburg Lutheran Cemetery in Minden, Nebraska.

OBITURAY: Orville Vernon Nielsen

Dedication and service best describes Orville. The song “My Task” provides us with an insight of the man himself. When honored for the Chamber of Commerce “Gold Award” it was said it was given to a senior person, not necessarily by the age of the recipient of the years of service but senior in the manner of which his peers have looked upon him for his leadership. This leadership has not only been in his profession, but also the leadership which he has given this community in various fraternal and civic organizations. He has not only been generous with his time but also his financial support to many organizations and community drive.

Many have looked up to him as Mr. Rotary and was considered by his fellow Rotarians to be a walking encyclopedia of Rotary information. In the same light he was looked up to as Mr. Aurora Development Corporation and again was considered to be a living history book of the Aurora Development Corporation since its organization.

Orville was born in Kearney County, Nebraska and attended Upland schools through high school graduation. Seeking higher education he attended Dana College in Blair, Nebraska for 3 years and graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was a member of Phi Mu Alpha national fraternity during college, and following graduation he toured Europe in 1929 as Assistant Director with the Dana College Choir.

His career of many professions began as a school teacher where he taught at Page City, Kansas and then Minden, Nebraska. He married Dee Madsen on November 3, 1934 and continued his teaching career in Holbrook, Nebraska. He then became a field man for Gambles/Skogmo and worked in Clay Center, Kansas and Fremont, Nebraska before purchasing and then operating a Gambles hardware store in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. While in Plattsmouth he branched out into banking rising to Chief Cashier at the Plattsmouth State Bank while also being one of the two partners in a thriving insurance business. Looking for new opportunities he worked for Stockyards National Bank in Omaha calling on a number of branch and regional banks, and then joined Beyer’s Bank Firm where he bought and sold banks. Thus, when presented the opportunity in 1957 he purchased First Securities Corporation in Aurora where he has been President for the last 33 years. In this role he has been active as a Realtor, licensed real estate appraiser, and continued with insurance. While in Aurora his business practices of fair play and honest work touched many of your lives and throughout the wider community. Causes were important in Orville’s life and his participation in fighting the electrical highline passing over our Hamilton Co. farmland was just one.

Having helped form the Aurora Development Corporation he was in office since its inception. He served this city as its mayor for eight years, and for twenty years served on the Board of the Memorial Hospital. Active in Rotary International beginning in Plattsmouth and then Aurora he is a Past District Governor for Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. A recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Awards to be granted. The community did not lack from Orville’s leadership, drive and hard work. We all benefited, and will do so for many years to come.

Music had a special place in Orville’s life. He sang in the Dana College Choir, played trumpet in the Nebraska University marching band, and sang in every church choir where he lived. From coaching barbershop quartets in Plattsmouth, Rotary Song leader in Aurora for a number of years, Director of our church choir for a few more, and always participating as a singer. He shared his love of music and did not keep it to himself. Within our church Orville also served on our Council as Treasurer for several years. Orville was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Aurora, a Shriner in Hastings Tehama, a Past Patron of the Order of Eastern Star. His life touched many.

Of the many awards Orville earned during his lifetime, there are two which he cherished. The homestead of his parents in Kearney County, Nebraska which he then owned to the present day was given the Nebraska Pioneer Farm Award in late 1988 after the farm had been within the same family for over 100 years. The second occurred in November of 1989 when he was honored by the Aurora Development Corporation for his 26 years of service as an officer and director. These awards speak of the dedication of the man and the worth he brought the communities. Leadership, dedication and loyalty.

Winston Churchill said “There are no great men, only ordinary men who rise to great occasions.” Here was such a man.

Orville was preceded in death by his parents, and 2 brothers, Emerald and Richard Nielsen.

Those who remain to cherish his memory are his wife Dee of Aurora; one son Vernon Stuart Nielsen and his wife Sue of London, England; one daughter, Zandra Dee Nelson and her husband Roger of Albion; 5 grandchildren, Stuart Scott Nielsen, Kendall Suzanne Nielsen, Stephen Kent Nielsen and his wife Docia, Kimberly Sue Moss and her husband Kenneth, and Kelly and Todd Nelson; one great grandchild Alexander Kent Nielsen; 2 brothers, Wesley Nielsen and his wife Violet of Minden, Merle Nielsen and his wife Gerry of Minden; a sister-in-law, Marjorie Madsen of Minden, nieces and nephews and many friends and associates.