Ethel Kvalheim

Stoughton- Ethel Margaret Nelson Kvalheim, age 99, passed away on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at Stoughton Hospital. She was born in the town of Pleasant Springs on March 5, 1912, the eldest child of John and Martha Bertina (Larson) Nelson. Ethel graduated from Stoughton High School in 1930. On May 21, 1933 she married Arthur Peter Kvalheim at Western Koshknong Lutheran Church in Pleasant Springs. Ethel worked as a counselor at the Oregon School for Girls for 18 years. She was a member of the WI State Rosemaling Association, First Lutheran Church and was a life member of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decora, Iowa. In 1969 she was awarded the first gold medal for Rosemaling. In 1971 Ethel was awarded the King Olaf Medal of Honor for preservation of Norwegian Heritage in Rosemaling. In 1981 she received the Stoughton Community Appreciation Award. In 1989 Charles Kuralt awarded Ethel the National Heritage Award Fellowship. In 1990 she was inducted into the Stoughton Hall of Fame. Ethel is survived by two sons, Keith (Fannie) and Gary (Kathy) Kvalheim, both of Stoughton; five grandchildren, Scott (Toni), Kevin (Jenny), Jason (Jennifer) and Dan (Sarah) Kvalheim and Cindy (Rick) Armstrong;10 great grandchildren; sister-in-law, Alice Nelson; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Arthur on November 13, 1980; sister, Geneva Johanna Hanson in 1993; and brother, Thomas John Nelson in 2001. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, November 21, 2011 at First Lutheran Church, 310 E. Washington Street, Stoughton, with Rev. Richard Halom officiating. Burial will follow in Western Koshkonong Cemetery. Friends and relatives are invited to a luncheon in the church fellowship hall following the burial. Visitation will be held from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM on Sunday, November 20, 2011 at Cress Funeral Home in Stoughton, and from 10:00 AM until the time of services Monday at church. Memorials may be made to Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, P.O. Box 379, 523 W. Water St., Decorah, Iowa 52101, or online at www.vesterheim.org . A special thank you to the staffs of Harmony House in McFarland and Stoughton Hospital.