Reta Nielsen

Reta Nielsen, 87 of Viborg, passed away on February 19, 2018 at the Wakonda Heritage Manor in Wakonda. Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, February 24, 2018 at The Church of the Nazarene in Viborg. Visitation will be held 1 hour prior to the service. Arrangements by Hofmeister-Jones Funeral Home. Reta was born August 26, 1930 to Miner and Mary (Stephens) Pinkston at Arnold, Nebraska. She went to country schools around Arnold. They moved to Nampa, Idaho in 1945. She graduated from Northwest Nazarene Academy in 1947 at the age of 16. She went to Northwest Nazarene College for 2 years. In the fall of 1949 she came with a friend to South Dakota to teach in rural schools. Her first school was Mayfield #35 and taught many other rural schools in Yankton and Turner Counties. She was a teacher’s aide in Irene from 1971 to 1973. Reta and Milton Nielsen were married March 18, 1950 in Sioux Falls, SD. Two children were born to this union: Nancy Wrigg and Larry Nielson. She enjoyed doing Genealogy and made books of her Mother and Father’s families and Milton’s families. She enjoyed going and watching her grandchildren in their school activities. They moved to Viborg in 2010. She was an active member of the Church of the Nazarene, where she served as a Sunday school teacher. Reta was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Reta is survived by her children Nancy (Stephen) Wrigg of Viborg and Larry Nielsen of Irene; Grandchildren Lee (Wendy) Wrigg of Viborg, David (Sarah) Wrigg of Luverne, MN., Nicole (Joe) Selwyn of Yankton; Great-grandchildren Logan and Alexis Wrigg; Step-great-grandchildren Chelsea Carroll and Tate Selwyn; and many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents Minor and Mary Pinkston and step-mother Elizabeth Pinkston, her brother Kenneth Pinkston, her sister Pearl Hablitzel, and her husband Milton on December 12, 2014.