Jean I. Showers-Nelson
January 24, 1919 - August 25, 2024
Obituary
STOUGHTON - Jean Ida (Vroman) Showers-Nelson, age 105, of Stoughton, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, at Milestone Senior Living in Stoughton. She was the first baby born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, on Jan. 24, 1919, the daughter of Arthur and Ida (Brown) Vroman.
Jean grew up in her family home in Fitchburg. After her mother passed away when she was 3 days old, Jean was raised by nuns the first four years of her life and was then taken in by Dr. Gay. Arthur then married Eunice (Osborne) Vroman and Jean was able to return to her family home. She was then raised by her stepmother, Eunice. She graduated from Madison West High School in 1937 and attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Jean was united in marriage to Ervin Showers in 1938, he passed away in 1997. She worked at Oscar Mayer for many years, retiring in 1973. She was loved by all her co-workers, and they often gathered to eat and square dance. She also worked at A & W and was a full-time employee most of her life. When Jean was in her 90s, she met and married John Nelson, who was a pilot. They shared a home on Lake Kegonsa.
Jean was a long-time member of Bethel Lutheran Church. She lived to help others and volunteered in her community over the years with Woman of Bethel, Elizabeth Waters, helping families at Truax Field, caregiving for the Hub, Showers and Nelson families, baking and cooking for her neighbors, delivering meals on wheels, assisting at Skaalen Nursing and Rehabilitation, donating a huge poinsettia to the Sun Rise Café annually, and delivering cookies, brownies and hot chocolate to ice fisherman on the lake in the cold winter months.
Jean was a friend to all and the coordinator of her family reunions. It was most important that her family and everyone get along and live in harmony. She was a polio and uterine cancer survivor and made it a point to exercise daily and be healthy.
To celebrate her 100th birthday, Jean went to the top of the capitol building. She also took a trip this past June to Hagerstown, Md., and every morning they went to a restaurant at the airport and also visited an airplane museum and took an airplane ride. The pilot flew Jean and her daughter-in-law, Linda, over the Washington D.C. memorials, an unforgettable flight. They visited Washington D.C. and were able to see all the monuments and take in a lot of the U.S. history. Jean was passionate about American history and loved sharing her knowledge with her grandchildren.
Jean was an avid Packers fan and enjoyed all sports. She loved being pulled on a sled by her beloved dog, Smokey, on frozen Lake Monona and visiting Lee and Judie during the winter months. Jean and her daughter, Judith, enjoyed planting flowers every Mother’s Day and during the summer and Jean and daughter, Beverly, enjoyed spending time together. She enjoyed watching Lawrence Welk on Saturday evenings and Wheel of Fortune on weeknights and was a huge fan of Elvis (and even his impersonators).
Jean will be missed by her two daughters, Beverly (Gary) Forsmo and Judith (Haven) Williams; son, Lee (Linda) Showers; her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren; and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Ervin B. Showers; her second husband, John Nelson; parents, Joseph Arthur Vroman and Ida Brown; stepmother, Eunice Osborne; and brothers, Vernon Vroman and Gordon Vroman.
A funeral service will be held at GUNDERSON STOUGHTON FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 1358 Highway 51 N. at Jackson St., Stoughton, at 12 noon on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, with the Rev. John Berg presiding. Burial will take place at Roselawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Friday.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:
Agrace HospiceCare (www.agrace.org)
The Post Polio Support Groups (https://tinyurl.com/2hfmwzyx)
Easter Seals Wisconsin (https://www.eastersealswisconsin.com/)
Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.
Gunderson Stoughton
Funeral & Cremation Care
1358 Highway 51 N. at Jackson St.
(608) 873-4590