_edited.jpg)
Dorice Ann (Johnson) Nelson was born on August 6, 1937, at Lutheran Hospital, Manhattan, New York, to Julius and Ruby (Erickson) Johnson. The family moved back to the Midwest in 1941 to Cloquet, Minnesota, and then to Superior, Wisconsin, before settling in Ashland, WI, in 1946. Dorice graduated from Ashland High School in 1954, and Superior State Teachers’ College (now UW Superior) in 1958. In 1961, she married George H. Nelson, and together they raised three children in Menomonie. They later divorced.
While raising her family, Dorice served as a kindergarten, music, and Title 1 teacher in several Colorado and Wisconsin elementary schools. She returned to college and completed her master’s degree studies at UW Eau Claire in 1971. For many years, she taught struggling students in a clinical setting, helping several hundred students attain proficiency in reading, math, and study skills, and to prepare for GED, ACT, and SAT tests.
Dorice was a longtime member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Menomonie. She sang in school, church, and community choirs throughout her life, taught Sunday School, and directed several children’s choirs. She was always an avid reader. She moved to Minnesota in 2019, and enjoyed visits with her granddaughters throughout their lives more than just about anything.
Dorice died on February 22, 2025, in Maplewood, MN, at the age of 87. She is survived by son Craig (Brenda) Nelson, Eleva; daughter Connie Nelson, Dayton, MN; daughter Marcia Nelson, Superior, WI; granddaughters Kacey (Tracy) Bui, Erika Guenther, Addie Guenther, and Samantha Nelson; siblings Judy (Arlen) Christenson, Madison, WI, David Johnson, Danbury, CT, and sister-in-law Laura Johnson, Colorado Springs, CO; niece Anne ( Joseph) Murphy, and nephews John (Bridget) Christenson, and Peter Johnson, and many cousins.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Richard Johnson of Colorado Springs, CO.
Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Menomonie, WI with Pastor Sarah Miller officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service, with a gathering for food and fellowship in the Friendship Room at the church immediately following the service. Internment of her ashes will be at a later date at Mount Hope Cemetery in Ashland, Wisconsin.
Olson Funeral Home in Menomonie, WI is serving the family.
To share a memory, please visit obituaries at www.olsonfuneral.com
