Barbara Ann Nelson, age 82, of Brookings, passed away on February 6, 2022, at the Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 A.M on Monday, February 14th at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Visitation with family present will be Sunday, February 13th from 2-4 P.M. at Eidsness Funeral Home with a Liturgical Wake Service starting at 3:45 P.M. Burial will be in East Grandview Cemetery, Gary, SD.

Barbara was born to Melvin and Marion (Coyne) Hill, December 31, 1939, in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from Minneapolis Roosevelt High School and matriculated at the University of Minnesota.  As a young woman, Barbara worked in advertising sales for Northwestern Bell and at AeroResearch as an "engineering computer."

Barbara married Ronald J. Nelson of Canby, MN in Minneapolis, March 3, 1962. The Nelsons were proud parents of six children and fifteen grandchildren. They lived in Brookings for over 50 years, with stints in Phoenix and Thatcher, AZ; St. Paul, Montevideo, Glenwood, and Faribault. Barbara was the Director of Religious Education for St. Thomas More Catholic Parish for 19 years and the campaign finance manager for Gov. George Mickelson. Barbara was active in politics, Birthright and Right to Life, and the parish. She was a golfer, loved to travel, and was an avid sports fan, especially of her Minnesota Twins.

Barbara is survived by her children Jeff, Turner, MT; Annette (Russ) Maine Smith, Elkhorn, NE; Beth (Matt) Kenney, Sterling, VA; Kevin, Sun Prairie, WI; Michael (Lisa), Parker, CO; and Mary (Rodney) Rohrer, Firth, NE; along with grandchildren Maureen, Rachel, Alexis, James, Savanna, Hannah, Ella, Rebecca, Christina, Anna, Elizabeth, Joshua, August, and Benjamin; and sisters Beverly Upchurch, Charlottesville, VA and Bette Quarberg, Zimmerman, MN.

Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, husband, granddaughter Katherine Rohrer, and son-in-law Keith Maine.

In lieu of flowers, the Nelson family suggests that memorial donations are made to the St. Jude's Children Research Hospital or the St. Thomas More School in Brookings.

You may donate to the St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital here

Ways to donate at St Thomas More Catholic School