Nina Marie Youngberg

NINA MARIE (NELEMANS) YOUNGBERG, age 103 of Waseca, died, Thursday, August 1, 2024, at Whispering Creek Nursing Home in Janesville.

She was born on July 27, 1921, in Sully, Iowa. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Cornilia (Van Der Meer) Nelemans. She attended Northside School through the 8th grade, when she was 15, she moved with her family to Otisco, Minnesota. On February 21, 1942, she married Glenn Youngberg. Glenn and Nina were married for 61 years before his passing. She loved writing letters to people, gardening, canning fruits and vegetables, embroidering, and playing Bingo at the care center. Throughout her life, Nina worked at Birds Eye Canning Factory, Brown Printing, EF Johnson’s, Herter’s, and Hammer’s Clothing Store. She retired from Hammer’s after 13 years; Hammer’s was her favorite place where she worked. She had the best boss there, and loved being able to help people find a great outfit. Nina’s greatest accomplishments were having her four children; she would spend several years of her life becoming a caretaker to her infant son, Chuck, who suffered from spina bifida, and making sure that he was taken care of. Nina loved spending time with her family, she always loved to visit. She always remembered birthdays and anniversaries by sending a card or a letter. She was very proud of her Dutch heritage, as you would see all her Dutch figurines on her shelves at home and who could forget those wooden clogs. She was very proud of her housekeeping and was quite the baker. Her favorite food was a chocolate brownie; at Christmas time, you could look forward to her famous fudge-Yummy! Nina had always wanted to be a teacher. Though she may not have been able to become one, one of her greatest gifts was that you were always learning something new from her wise, wisdom. One of her greatest memories of her 103 years was being able to watch TV, something she never thought would happen. She loved her soap operas and always thought you knew the character that she was talking about. The biggest change that she saw was the rising cost of things, and how much rain we had gotten nowadays. She loved to keep calendars and would write down the temperature for each day so she could look back for years and tell you whether it was sunny and hot, or cold outside; she also kept notes about events that would happen on each day. Her love and silly wit will be dearly missed by all who knew her. One thing she always thought to be funny, in making the plans for her funeral, was that when you walked past her casket, she would wink at you, to make you laugh. 

She is survived by her children, Carol Meyer, Rita Johnson, Craig (Arlys) Youngberg, all of Waseca; grandchildren, Stacie (Nate) Brinkman, Shannon (Scott) Hedberg, Shelby Meyer (fiancé Nate Hunt), Lance (Karyn) Johnson, Kim Johnson, Chad (Dani) Youngberg, Katie Youngberg; great-grandchildren, Kelsea, Tanner, and Alexis Brinkman, Jordyn, Rylee, and Ethan Hedberg, Ryan, Camie, and Madisyn McClune, Cade Meyer, Jaxtyn Fredricks, and Brayden Youngberg. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband; son, Charles Youngberg; grandson Shawn Meyer; siblings, Henry “Hank” Nelemans, Lyle (Reka) Nelemans, Ann (Victor) Swenson.

Funeral service will be held, Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at 11:00 AM, at Faith United Methodist Church in Waseca with Pastor Kathy King officiating. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will follow at the Woodville Cemetery in Waseca.