Marianne Nelles

Marianne Nelles age 84 of Maquoketa Iowa died on Sunday morning July 22006.0 at Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque Iowa.



A celebration of her life will be held at 11 A.M. Friday July 72006.0 from the First United Methodist Church in Maquoketa with Pastor Jeff Dadisman officiating. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 P.M. on Thursday July 62006.0 from the Carson & Son Funeral And Cremation Services in Maquoketa Iowa. Cremation Rites will be accorded. Burial will be at a later date.



Marianne Keller was born on December 4 1921 in Zurich Switzerland to Edouard Keller and Emilie Marie (Bonhote). She was educated and later graduated from a private boarding school for boys where her dad was a teacher in 1940. Upon graduation the war was going on and close to the borders so she had to become independent in a hurry and attended secretarial college. In 1943 she joined the Administrative Department of the Swiss Army and worked in information centers and refugee camps where her native languages French Swiss and German came in handy. 1948-1951 was spent in Cambridge England to improve her English. In 1952 she went to Edmonton Alberta Canada to work for a Fr...[more]

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h Canadian Radio Station. This where she met her future husband Jakob Jake Nelles and they were married on November 6 1954 in Edmonton Alberta Canada. He preceded her in death on January 18 2005.



After spending 5 ¢ years in Canada the family moved to Wisconsin. In 1965 they moved to Maquoketa Iowa where Marianne was a homemaker raising three children and keeping things in order while Jake was away on business. The Nelles family had owned and operated Nelles Cheese and Equipment Company manufacturing cheese making equipment until 1991 when they sold the rights to DEC International based out of Madison Wisconsin.



Marianne was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Maquoketa where she had been active in children's church and the church choir. She was a former member of the Tuesday Club of the Federated Club. She had delivered Meals-On-Wheels for many years. She loved traveling and biking and had traveled by bike all over Europe. She also loved animals especially cats gardens and flowers and the theatre. She also enjoyed snow skiing in her younger years doll collecting making dolls and doing needlework. Her family and grandchildren were especially important to her.



Marianne is survived by: children- Catherine(Mrs. Roger) Anderson of Eveleth MN John(Kate) Nelles of Toronto Canada & Peter(Kelly) Nelles of Blue Mounds WI; & 3 grandchildren- Emma Pierce & Grace. She was preceded in death by her parents her husband & 2 sisters- Elizabeth & Dorothee.



A Marianne Nelles Memorial Fund has been established.