Joyce Nelson

Joyce Nelson, age 91, of Salem passed away on Monday, August 31, 2020 at Diamond Care Center in Bridgewater.  Funeral services will begin at 10:30 AM on Saturday, September 5, 2020 at Kinzley Funeral Home in Salem.  Burial will be at the Canistota Cemetery.  Visitation will begin on Friday at 9:00 am with family present from 6:30-8pm at Kinzley Funeral Home in Salem.

Joyce Nelson was born Joyce Melissa Kneen on April 26, 1929, to Harold and Beatrice (Estabrook) Kneen at Artesian, SD.  She lived with her family in the Artesian area and later lived with her sister, Shirley Vinz in the Spencer area and attended school at Artesian and later in Spencer SD.  She met Clifford via a double-date with both of their best friends while she was in high school in Spencer.  On August 28, 1947, she married Clifford Nelson and they made their home on a farm near Montrose where they farmed until Clifford’s death in 2011.  Joyce remained on the farm until 2017 when she moved to Leisure Living in Salem.  In 2020 she moved to Diamond Care Center due to health issues. Joyce was a member of the Christ Lutheran Church in Salem.  Joyce enjoyed gardening and quilting and was an excellent seamstress and cook.  Joyce loved farming and especially liked the baby animals.  Plowing was her least favorite job.  She was an extremely hard worker and worked right alongside Cliff the entire time they farmed.

Joyce is survived by 5 children: Donna (Kurt) Fink of Plankinton, SD, Bette (Tom) Andreas of New Philadelphia, OH, Barbara (Jimmy) Salmon of Vicksburg, MS, Sandy (Jim) Koch of Salem, SD, Doris (Bill Ranney) Peterson of Vermillion, SD;  daugher-in-law, Mary Nelson; 17 grandchildren; and 16 great grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by parents Harold and Beatrice; husband, Clifford; two sons, Clifford Henry Jr. and Troy Douglas Frederick; 2 brothers, Warren and Orie Kneen, and 3 sisters, Shirley Vinz, Eleanor Hendrix, and Clarice Krueger; and several nieces and nephews.