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Harlan Curtis Nelsen

Harlan Curtis Nelsen

Male 1939 - 2005  (66 years)

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  • Name Harlan Curtis Nelsen 
    Born 28 Oct 1939  Mission Hill, Yankton, South Dakota, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Died 18 Nov 2005  Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, South Dakota, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I5857857051  Master Tree
    Last Modified 20 Aug 2009 

    Father Curtis Milton Nelsen,   b. 25 Feb 1911, Mission Hill, Yankton, South Dakota, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Jun 1987, Yankton, South Dakota, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 76 years) 
    Mother Dorothy Holbrook,   b. 18 Jul 1912, Bloomfield, Knox, Nebraska, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 Oct 2002, Creighton, Knox, Nebraska, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 90 years) 
    Married 14 Sep 1933  Yankton, South Dakota, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F5350799170  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Ann Gutierrez 
    Children 
     1. Brian Nelsen
    +2. Chris Nelsen
    Last Modified 13 Dec 2006 
    Family ID F5350799189  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 28 Oct 1939 - Mission Hill, Yankton, South Dakota, United States Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 18 Nov 2005 - Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, South Dakota, United States Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Notes 


    • MISSION HILL -- Harlan Curtis Nelsen, age 66, of Mission Hill, South Dakota, died Friday, November 18, 2005, at VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
      A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 22, 2005, at St. Benedict Catholic Church, Yankton with Reverend Ken Bain celebrating. Burial will be in Vangen Lutheran Cemetery, Mission Hill, South Dakota.

      Visitation is from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, at Wintz & Ray Funeral Home, Yankton with the family present from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

      Pallbearers are Travis Nelsen, Dave Nelson, Jason Stark, Ron Hanson, Adrian Lucero and Ray Culver.

      Harlan was born October 28, 1939, on the family farm in rural Mission Hill to Curtis and Dorothy (Holbrook) Nelsen. He attended Welby Grade School and Gayville/Meckling High Schools, graduating in 1957. He entered active military service in the United States Air Force in June of 1957 and served continuously until February of 1979, retiring as a Master Sergeant. He served in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for actions in the Viet Nam War. During his military service, he married Ann Gutierrez in Altus, Oklahoma on June 7, 1966. After retiring from the United States Air Force, he returned to the family farm and operated it until the time of his death. He was a life member of the BPO Elks Lodge #994 and the VFW in Yankton.

      Survivors include his wife, Ann; two sons: Brian (Melissa) Nelsen of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Chris (Cynthia) Nelsen and their son, Curtis, of Scotland, South Dakota; one stepson, William (Gail) Lucero of Virginia Beach, Virginia; one stepdaughter, Elizabeth Rodriguez of Elk Grove, California; 6 step-grandchildren; and 3 step-great-grandchildren.

      He was preceded in death by his parents.
    • Area Farm To Be Featured In Registry
      BY SALLY SCHROEDER
      [email protected]

      MISSION HILL -- National treasures come in all shapes and sizes.

      An eight-sided "polygonal" barn and a swine barn on New Hope Farm, owned by Harlan Nelsen near Mission Hill, were recently nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for their historic and physical integrity.

      Nelsen said he asked about having the barns on his century-old farm listed on the Register several months ago.

      "My great-grandfather, Norman Nelsen, was a meticulous record-keeper and kept the farm the same way," said Harlan Nelsen.

      Nelsen is the third generation to live on the farmstead. He said the eight-sided storage barn was built for $1,325 in 1913 as his great-grandfather was establishing the farmstead. The farm was purchased by the senior Nelsen in 1901.

      The storage barn is approximately 40 feet in diameter, and each side measures about16 feet wide. There is an entry point in every other side of the barn, he said.

      It was built as a machine shed, but since the equipment has gotten larger with modern technology, Nelsen said he now can only store smaller equipment inside.

      However, despite its size, there are other advantages to having a building like this on your property.

      "These buildings are built with such better lumber than what you could ever buy today," Nelsen added.

      A second building at New Hope Farm was also listed on the registry. A hog barn, which Nelsen said hasn't held hogs in many years, is unique because of its gambrel roof. The extended roof area, complete with a cupola, served as a hay loft for feeding the animals below, Nelsen said.

      Nelsen said he has removed several buildings from the farm site since he retired from the military and returned to Mission Hill to farm in 1979.

      According to Steve Rogers, Historic Preservation Coordinator in Pierre, it is unusual to have individual buildings nominated and not the entire farmstead.

      Polygonal barns are very rare in South Dakota, Rogers said.

      "Less than 40 barns of this type were ever constructed in South Dakota, and there are less than 30 remaining today," Rogers said.

      "Generally, we look at the entire site and try to create an association between the community and the farm itself. But these buildings had such historic and physical integrity, there was no question they should be nominated," Rogers said.

      The building needs to retain an association between the setting, materials with which it was built, the craftsmanship and how they all come together. And the buildings must be old enough to meet the general guidelines.

      "Most of the historic registry contains structures which are at least 50 years old. If they aren't 50 years old, they have to have extraordinary qualities which would qualify them for another reason," Rogers said.

      "Some people think being listed on the National Historic Registry restricts them from making changes to the structure, so they don't even attempt to see if would meet the criteria," Rogers said.

      "The nomination is really an Å’honoriffic designation' to celebrate the historic qualities in a structure," he added.

  • Sources 
    1. [S8029498572] Social Security Death Index.