Ann M. Nelson

 MADISON / STOUGHTON - Ann Nelson, age 90, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, at Skaalen Magnolia Gardens. She was born on June 24, 1930, in Plover, Wis., to Joseph and Anna (Blaske) Hojnacki. Ann held many cherished memories of her childhood on the family farm in Plover and attending the nearby one-room school. Ann moved to the Greenbush Neighborhood of Madison at age 12. She married the love of her life, Loel Nelson, in 1951 in Madison. Together they built the family home in Madison. Ann loved her vegetable and flower gardens. She canned vegetables, baked amazing breads, and made homemade applesauce and jellies for her family. She loved to cook and bake, trying new recipes and reading her cookbooks, which numbered in the hundreds. She filled the yard of the family home with bird feeders, baths, and birdhouses. She loved to watch and care for them in all seasons. Another great passion in her life was music. Her father taught her to dance, standing as a little girl on his toes, and she continued to dance her entire life. Polkas, Cajun, and Country music were her favorites. In her later years, at Magnolia Gardens in Skaalen Home, she was well known for dancing away at musical performances, with her walker as her partner. Everyone enjoyed watching her dance and could feel her love of music and dancing. The family would like to thank Skaalen Home for their love and care of Ann in the last three years of her life. Thank you to the many loving and caring staff that helped her final years blossom with music and activities. A special thank you to Delores Hayes, whose thoughtfulness, love, and tender care helped Ann and Loel, adjust to and flourish in their new home at Magnolia Gardens. Ann is survived by five children, Linda Rose of Madison, Donna (Monroe) Smith of Pensacola, Fla., Jeff Nelson of Chicago, Ken (Lisa Soderberg) Nelson of Muskego and Judy Nelson of Madison; four grandchildren, Carrie (Craig) Severson, Michael (Chantelle) Luck, Wolfgang Nelson and Veronica Soderberg; and three great-grandchildren, Annabelle, Charlotte and Elenora Luck. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Georgia Carr and Karen Hojnacki; as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Ann was preceded in death by her son, Robert Joseph; her parents; her brother, Clarence; and her beloved husband, Loel. Visitation will be held at Gunderson Stoughton Funeral and CrematiON Care, 1358 Highway 51, Stoughton, from 10 a.m. until 12 noon on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. A private funeral service will be held at 12 noon on Wednesday. Friends and family wishing to attend VIA LIVE STREAM may do so by going to Ann’s obituary page at www.gundersonfh.com at noon on Wednesday. Burial will be held at Sunset Memory Gardens. As Ann was a woman of strong faith, embracing lifelong the Catholic faith she was raised in, and the Lutheran faith she converted to upon marriage, your thoughts and prayers at this time are a comfort. As gatherings are limited in this time of Covid-19, the family understands that everyone who would wish to celebrate Ann may not be able to come. Please play a polka and think of her and the beautiful, amazing, loving woman she is. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the National Audubon Society. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com . “If I had a flower for each time I thought of My Mother, I could walk in my garden forever.” - Alfred Lord Tennyson Gunderson Stoughton Funeral & Cremation Care 1358 Highway 51 N. at Jackson St. (608) 873-4590