Sunday, July 23 – Special display in the Narthex celebrating Carol Hoeg Oliver’s new book about Decorah’s “Nisse Lady”, The Curve of Her Life: Folk Artist Laura Hjelle Hoeg. Laura, her husband Victor, and children Carol and Bob were Charter Members of Good Shepherd. Our collection of her famous Nisse, photos of her five Advent-Christmas panels – two have been hung in the Fellowship Hall – and copies of Carol’s book also will be displayed. The book is available at Vesterheim’s Museum Store (also online at the Museum’s website) and Dragonfly Books. Carol plans to be with us on Sunday, July 30, and will sign your copies of her book.

Tuesday, July 11
5:00 p.m. – Kids Lunch Club Packing
7:30 p.m. – Band Rehearsal

Wednesday, July 12
10:30 a.m. – Communion at Aase Haugen

Thursday, July 13
10:00 a.m. – Bible Study with Pastor Marion

Sunday, July 16 – Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 a.m. – Worship with Holy Communion – Live Broadcast
10:30 a.m. – Fellowship Hour

Corinne L. Nelson, age 93, of Decorah, IA, died Friday evening, June 30, 2017 at Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah, with her husband Harland by her side.  

Memorial Services will be at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Decorah, with Pastor Amy Larson officiating. Private Family Inurnment will be in Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah.  

Visitation begins at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 25, one hour before the service, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. 

Corinne Lois was born to Martin K. and Marie (Sletten) Rye in Yankton County, South Dakota, on July 15, 1923.  A graduate of Augustana Academy at Canton, South Dakota, she received the B.A. Degree from the University of Minnesota in 1947.

Corinne was married to Harland Nelson at University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis on December 3, 1954. Harland was from a farm family (like Corinne) in rural Barnesville, in Clay County, MN. They moved to Storrs, CT in 1959, where Harland taught at the University of Connecticut until coming to Luther College in 1962.  His Fulbright professorships took them to Bergen, Norway and Innsbruck, Austria and sabbatical leaves to St. Paul, MN and Leicester, England.

Her early places of employment were as an editorial assistant at the Evangelical Lutheran Church headquarters and as an administrative assistant and grant proposal preparer in the Mechanical Division of General Mills, Inc., both in Minneapolis.  Later, she did copy editing and indexing of book manuscripts for publishers in New York and Minneapolis. From 1970 until her retirement in 1991, she held several positions at Luther College, the last as an advancement officer writing grant proposals.

For the city of Decorah, Corinne served on the Board of Adjustment, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Long-Range Planning Committee.  At Decorah Lutheran Church, she served on the council and as president of the congregation, as a Sunday school teacher, on the refugee resettlement committee, on the 125th anniversary planning committee, and in WELCA and the Dorcas Circle.  She was active in the American Association of University Women, Luther College Womans Club, Aase Haugen Homes Auxiliary, and as a volunteer with Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.

Corinne is survived by her husband Harland; three children and their families: Hilary Mark Nelson of West Lafayette, IN; Sarah Nelson and Tim Gresback of Moscow, ID; and Catherine Mizell-Nelson of New Orleans, LA; five grandchildren: Haley and Linnea Nelson, Luke Gresback, and Keely and Arlo Mizell.  She is also survived by her sister, Ella Magstadt of Minneapolis, MN.  

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers Kenneth and Glenn; and son-in-law Michael Mizell-Nelson.

Memorial gifts may be given to the Harland and Corinne Nelson Scholarship Fund at Luther College, c/o Development Office, 700 College Drive, Decorah, IA 52101 or the charity of your choice.

The Thankful Brass Joins Good Shepherd Band for Mini-Concert following Worship on Sunday, July 2

A program of fun patriotic and “Americana” music, performed by The Thankful Brass of Spring Grove and the Good Shepherd Band, will begin at 11 a.m. following the July 2 worship service. The mini-concert, which should last no more than 30 minutes, will be the first time the Good Shepherd Band and The Thankful Brass have collaborated, with the two groups also playing during worship on July 2. Good Shepherd Music Director Brooke Joyce will direct the joint band.

According to Dan Raney, who’s been a long-term substitute tuba player with The Thankful Brass, the 5 member group includes musicians from Spring Grove and surrounding communities and is less than a decade old. Started by Fred Arnold. retired band director and dairy farmer who lives between Spring Grove and Caledonia, The Thankful Brass performs at church services and community celebrations in the area, and also appears regularly with the Luren Singers and in Trinity Lutheran Church Christmas concerts in Spring Grove.

The Good Shepherd Band has long talked about performing with various brass groups in the region, and   this is the first of such collaborations.