Elna Utoft Nielsen Bellows

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Elna Utoft Nielsen Bellows died on October 10. She was born in 1927, the only child of Christian Nielsen and Gudrun Hansen Nielsen of Dannebrog (Nysted), Nebraska. When she was 12, her farm family moved to Tyler, Minnesota to escape the devastating droughts of Nebraska. She graduated from Tyler High School in 1945, attended Grand View College, in Iowa and received degrees from the University of Minnesota and Purdue University. As a young woman, she taught for three post-war years in Germany, in schools for American children, taking the opportunity to travel widely in Europe. For three decades, in the U.S., she worked with children and their families as a teacher, counselor and social worker. In 1973, Elna and William "Bill" Bellows were married at Georgetown Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. North Carolina became their home for twenty years, first Raleigh and later Winston-Salem, nearer their cherished Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1994, Elna and Bill moved to Minneapolis, closer to her family. She and Bill continued to explore the world together, into their eighties. Elna was a devoted and caring wife and friend, and an eloquent writer. She treasured her Danish heritage and her extended family. She valued most highly her time with children, challenging, respecting and enjoying them. Although she had no children of her own, she was never childless in spirit. She was loved by her three stepchildren, Brad, Anne, and Susan, and by their children, Ellora, Julia, Claire, Julian and Meredith, and by her many cousins and extended family. A memorial service will be held at Christ Church Lutheran, Minneapolis, on December 7 at 10:00 AM. Private interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery with her husband, Bill.

Published on November 28, 2009