Vera Skjoldal, age 76 of Lemmon, SD passed away on November 14, 2008, on the Palliative Care Unit at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, ND after a long struggle with breast cancer.


Funeral services for Vera will be held at 1:00pm, Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at the New Hope Worship Center in Lemmon. Pastor Alan Hathaway will officiate with burial in Greenhill Cemetery at Lemmon.


A family service will be held at 7:00pm, Monday evening, November 17, 2008 at the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon.


Special music will be provided by Pat Peterson, organist and Pastor Alan Hathaway.


Serving as casketbearers are Jamey Rhodes, Nathan, Paul, David, Brandon, and Randy Skjoldal, Russell Nelson, and Lance Brockel. All of Vera's grandchildren and great grandson are considered honorary bearers.


A memorial has been established.


VERA MAE ARLENE NELSON was born April 5, 1932, in Dakota Township, at the rural Adams County home of her parents Carl and Lizzie (Solomon) Nelson. She was delivered into this world by her father, and was the youngest of five children. Her brothers and sisters nicknamed her "Vee Dee" early on and the name stuck, but only among her immediate family.


She attended a local country school near her home and graduated from Hettinger High School in 1949. She earned a teaching certificate from Dickinson College and taught for a year in a one room school house in rural Adams County. In addition to teaching and being a homemaker, she also worked as a secretary for the Lemmon Tribune newspaper in Lemmon and did so until she met her future husband Haakon "Henry" Skjoldal. After a brief courtship, she and Henry were united in marriage on August 2, 1953 in Lemmon. Their union created six sons and five daughters, although five of their children died in infancy.


Vera also cleaned at the Prairie Motel and Lemmon Clinic, and washed dishes at the Busted T. Café. Vera was a tireless worker and a devoted and faithful wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. She supported her husband in every professional endeavor, whether it was driving the tractor in the field when he farmed or taking care of the bookkeeping when he and their son Gary started a trucking company in 1990.


Although small in stature, Vera had a tremendous inner strength that belied her diminutive size, a strength that was sustained by her faith in God. She attended the Lemmon Church of God, now the New Hope Worship Center for over fifty years, serving as a third grade Sunday school teacher, ladies auxiliary member and church custodian.


Vera treasured her family, the one she came from, the one she married into, and the one she helped create. She enjoyed working in her flower garden and visiting with family and friends, and going to church. Despite living in many different locations including Rapid City, SD, Missoula, MT, and Minot, ND, over her nearly 80 years, she always considered Lemmon her home.


She is survived by her 4 sons, Baruch "Bruce" Solomon, Tsfat, Israel; Gary (Deanna) Skjoldal, Lemmon, SD; Bryan Skjoldal, Fargo, ND; Todd (Amy) Skjoldal, Fargo, ND; 2 daughters, Nancy (Kevan) Nelson, Fargo, ND; Lisa (Sam) Patterson, Pleasant Hill, IA; 7 grandchildren, Rachel Howard, Fargo, ND; Jessica Howard, St. Paul, MN; Brandon Skjoldal, Fargo, ND; Ashley Howard, Fargo, ND; Emily Skjoldal, Lemmon, SD; Eric Patterson, Pleasant Hill, IA; Luke Patterson, Pleasant Hill, IA; and one great-grandson Jamon Howard, Fargo, ND; 2 sisters, Goldie Dresden, Clovis, CA; Marion Olson, Rapid City, SD; 2 brothers; Jake (Francis) Nelson, Lemmon, SD; and Robert Nelson, Lake Tahoe, CA; 3 sisters-in-law, Ann (Skjoldal) Anderson, Missoula, MT; Esther (Skjoldal) Wolff, Eugene OR; Lillian Brockel, Colorado Springs, CO; 1 brother-in-law, Sherman (Bonnie) Skjoldal; and numerous nieces and nephews.


Vera was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Henry; 2 sons and 3 daughters, all in infancy; and 1 brother, Cliff Nelson.


Visitation will be Monday, 1:00 to 7:00pm, Tuesday, 9:00am to 11:00am at the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon and one hour prior to services at the New Hope Worship Center in Lemmon.