Michael Nesset, writer and teacher who drew people in with his prose and generosity, dies at 78

For decades, Michael Nesset's published essays took readers on a tour of his life from his small-town childhood in Iowa to growing old in the Twin Cities. Along the way, he wove lessons of hope, loss and the inevitable changes that come with time.

But for those who sat in his classroom at Century College or the dozens of kids he mentored, it wasn't so much the lessons on a page that mattered. It was the example he set.

"He was the first father figure that I had — a positive role model," said Jonathon Shellenberger.

Growing up with a single mother, Shellenberger often shouldered a lot of responsibility, including taking care of his younger sister. But on weekend visits with Nesset, "I got to be a kid," he said. "We went to the park. We played catch."

Nesset taught him to fish and camp and helped him earn Boy Scout badges and made sure he did his homework. His "honorary grandfather" came to his baseball games, wrestling matches and his high school and college graduations.

"He did all the things a father would do," Shellenberger said.

Now 35 with four kids of his own, Shellenberger credits Nesset for showing him how to be a good father and husband. "Looking back, I can say that he's the person I want to be," he said.

By the time he finished the degree, hiring freezes made college teaching jobs scarce. So Nessett delivered newspapers in the morning then went to work as a custodian at Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

"He treated the ladies in the church's kitchen no different than the scholarly types" in his academic circle, said longtime friend Mary Preus, whose husband was the church pastor at the time.

"He had so much generosity toward people," she said. He didn't just serve meals to those who came through the food line at Loaves and Fishes, he sat at their tables to talk with them. He didn't just spend time with the kids he mentored, he gave them a place in his family, Preus said.

He was always present for his own children as well as those he brought into his life, said his daughter, Anne Wogen, of Auckland, New Zealand.

At Century College, where he taught English for 24 years, Nesset nurtured thousands of students, said longtime friend and former colleague Cullen Bailey Burns. "He thought it was possible for everyone to appreciate the beauty of the written word," she said.

Nesset could easily recite entire poems and literary passages, remember the fourth verse of hymns and sing an entire 1950s pop song from memory.

"I could call him any time I needed to know something about literature, astronomy, music," said his daughter, Sarah Nesset, of Minnetonka. "It sometimes was more than you wanted to know. ... He just wanted every person to be the best person they could be."

Nesset is also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins. Services have been held.