LaRae Lewis Nielson

LaRae Lewis Nielson, 91 of Ovid, ID, peacefully passed away on November 16, 2019 at the Bear Lake Memorial Skilled Nursing Facility. She was born on April 23, 1928 to Wilford (Wic) Lewis and Ruth Passey in Conda, ID. She and her sister, Connie, loved growing up in this close, tight-knit mining town, and loved to share memories of her happy childhood. LaRae loved music and excelled at playing the flute in school and dance bands as a soloist and in ensembles. LaRae had a beautiful singing voice and sang throughout her entire life. She sang and directed many church choirs and sang for years with the Chordbusters, and she cherished the friends she made therein. She loved sharing her talent with children and taught her daughters how to sing harmony while doing many batches of dishes at the kitchen sink. She taught her family to dance and was very good at it. This led to many fun dance parties around the house! She passed this trait on to her children and grandchildren and kept spontaneously bursting into song and getting her groove on into her last years. She graduated from Soda Springs High School as valedictorian. She was extremely smart and was a walking telephone book. You could ask her anyone’s number and she could come up with it. She also played a mean game of Scrabble, and she could spell any and every word.

Her father, Wic, loved to raise and race horses. One day LaRae met a tall, lanky, handsome young jockey who was working for her dad. His name was Farrell Nielson, and they fell in love, but Farrell was leaving to serve in the Navy during World World II. They wrote letters to each other every single day for four years while he was away. When Farrell returned, they were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on September 11, 1946. They settled in Ovid, ID where they raised 5 children on their Charolais cattle ranch.

LaRae was a woman of many talents. In her younger years, she loved to sew beautiful clothing including prom dresses and wedding gowns. For years she lovingly made quilts with her mother and for years after her mother’s passing. She was an amazing cook, and made the best lemon meringue pies ever, often requested for family and social events. She loved hosting and setting a pretty table and devotedly caring for her lovely home and beautiful gardens.

She was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She dutifully enjoyed serving in every auxiliary, from Children's Primary Music Director, to the Stake Relief Society President. She took great pride in being a guide at the Paris Tabernacle and also loved working in the Logan Temple for two years. She made many wonderful friends through her years of service. LaRae’s greatest joy was her children and grandchildren, involved in all of their activities and she never forgot a birthday.

Even as her health declined, as she was moved to the Bear Lake Manor and then the nursing home, she continued to make friends anywhere she was. The residents and nurses really enjoyed her and LaRae loved them. Her family will forever be grateful for the sweet, tender care given to LaRae.

LaRae was preceded in death by her husband, Farrell; her daughter, Julie (Tim) Garbett; her sister, Connie, and brother-in-law, Harry Dean Ozburn; her sister-in-law, Helen N. Berg; her brother-in-law Hal L. Berg and her brother-in-law, Richard Peterson; her grandson, Emmett Corrigan; and her granddaughter-in-law, Amber Ward Jacobson. She is survived by her children, Randy (Valerie) Nielson of Riverside, CA; Radeane (Jim) Blackwell of Las Vegas, NV; Brenda (Kevin) Jacobson of Ovid, ID; Trent (Shelly) Nielson of Jackpot, NV; sister-in-law, Ramona Peterson of Murray, UT; numerous nieces and nephews; 11 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

The Viewing will be Friday, November 22 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm at the Schwab-Matthews Mortuary (702 Clay St) in Montpelier, ID. On Saturday, November 23, a morning viewing prior to the funeral will be held from 9:30am to 10:45am in the Relief Society Room of the Bern Ward Chapel. Funeral services will begin at 11am at the Bern Ward Chapel.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice, or the Bear Lake Memorial Hospital or the Bear Lake Education Foundation.

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