Cleopha Ann Nelsen (Schwery)
Feb 5, 1929 – Dec 4, 2025
Cleo was born at home on a family farm near Panama, Iowa, during the Depression.
While life had other plans for her, she remained a farm girl at heart. She believed in the
dignity of hard work and prioritizing the needs of others. While life handed her plenty of
heartache, she didn’t see much use in complaining. Raised by the no-nonsense
children of immigrants, she was the youngest of 12, so a double-digit family was
natural to her. It was as a young woman working at a small-town drugstore, a dashing
son of a dairy farmer caught her eye. Newmark Nelsen was his name, but he went by
Dane, a name he chose to conceal the fact that he was racing motorcycles from his
parents. Dane’s wild ways ended when he married the girl of his dreams in 1950, and
they left the farm for good. Over the next 25 years, they made homes in Iowa,
Minnesota, and finally settled in the PNW on Mercer Island. Cleo and Dane had 12
children, a fact that stands as the centerpiece of her life. While Dane used his skills in
business to build a comfortable life for their family, Cleo focused on what came
naturally to her, making a home and nurturing the family within. Cleo and Dane’s home
hummed like a factory. Everyone had a job, and everything had its place. She insisted
on a job well done and instilled in her children pride in doing things right.
When the kids became independent, keeping a home wasn’t enough to occupy her
energies. She worked at Riley’s, a friend’s gift store, painted and wallpapered home
interiors, and always found time to “serve the needy”. Contributing was at the core of
her way of being, but she knew how to have fun. Sailing trips (though she never
learned to swim), she loved adventures on The Bakers Dozen and the Jeffrey R.
(the family sailboats), travels around the world with Dane, and attending the annual
Barn Dance, put on by her family in Iowa. She loved to dance and always had room
for dessert.
Cleo’s spirit was powered by an unwavering faith in the teachings of the Catholic
Church. The Church was the focal point of her community and held her up through the
death of three of her children and, after 61 years together, the passing of Dane.
While Cleo was the last surviving member of the Schwery children, her children are part
of a vast legacy and have 96 first cousins (at last count). She had a remarkable
memory for the details of her Iowa family and used her perfect penmanship to write
cards for births, birthdays, graduations, and condolences.
She is survived by her children, Craig (Jackie), Connie (Steve), Cris (Dennis), Cathy
(Brien), Tom, Jane, Peggy (Tom), Mark (Luiza), and Jimmy (Becket). Many grandchildren
and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her sons, Curtis, Jeff, Chuck,
and her husband, Dane.
Service will be held at St. Monica’s Catholic Church, 4301 88th Ave SE, Mercer Island,
WA 98040. Thursday, February 12, 2026, 11 am. Reception to follow.
