Dorothea Johanne Neilson

Dorothea Johanne Neilson, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, died peacefully at the age of 91 after a long battle with dementia.

Born in 1933 in Milwaukee, WI, to Ferdinand and Charlotte Jueschke, Thea was the second of seven children. Growing up in Milwaukee, she experienced a multitude of fond memories. One of the highlights of her teenage years was posing for a famed local artist Larry Rathsack on several occasions. One of his portraits of her hung in the family home throughout her life.

It was in Milwaukee that Thea met the love of her life, a young missionary named Morris Neilson who was serving in her ward. After his mission, Morris served in the army in the Korean war. After returning from the war, he and Thea were sealed in 1954 in the Salt Lake Temple.

Thea attended college at Brigham Young University, during which time she and Morris were engaged. Working to support herself through college, Thea landed a job at a marketing firm doing work for grocery and other stores. She used her artistic talents to draw illustrations and design layouts for ads. She enjoyed this work enough that she thought she was certain she would pursue a career in marketing (She was thinking of teaching biology). The demands of being pregnant while working and going to school were stressful. Morris put an end to it by telling her boss she was not only quitting, she was quitting “now!” Thea cherished her time as a student at BYU and always loved her time on campus.

Shortly after Morris’ graduation, they moved to Snowflake, AZ, where Morris taught Seminary. The move was difficult for her, but she made many close friends and helped set up a small library inside the town hall. All this made moving away a few years later even more difficult. Thea and Morris then settled in the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City where they would spend the rest of their lives.

Thea’s lifelong career and greatest joy was being a wife, mother, and homemaker. She always kept a very neat and orderly home and was very thrifty. She always had creative pursuits as well. She submitted stories (which were published) for the Relief Society magazines, did illustrations for ward R.S. invites, and wrote poems. One of her favorite hobbies consisted of finding hidden treasures from Deseret Industries, which she refinished, rearranged, and redesigned to decorate her home.

Thea was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in many capacities in her ward’s Relief Society, Young Women’s, and Sunday School organizations. Along with Morris, Thea also served as an ordinance worker in the Salt Lake Temple for many years.

Thea served as a docent at the Church History Museum for over 20 years. This was the perfect opportunity for her as it combined her love of art, the Church, and visiting with people. Thea cherished her associations with other docents, and they would regularly do outreach programs with local schools.

When not busy serving, Thea enjoyed a multitude of other interests. She loved listening to classical music, which was always playing on the stereo. She and Morris enjoyed attending concerts and other cultural activities in the area. She would often be found writing in her many volumes of journals or sitting on the couch reading scriptures, church and home décor magazines, and the newspaper. Thea found great joy working in her yard and even refused a sprinkler system that Morris wanted installed because she loved moving the hose around the yard.

Thea’s greatest attribute was her love for our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ. She had strong faith in and a testimony of the Church and lived the commandments to their fullest. She also had great faith in the power of prayer. A fun memory of mom is when the phone would ring during FHE. If Mom answered it, they would be greeted with a friendly “Neilson’s Family Home Evening, are you having yours?”

Thea’s great treasure was her relationship with her husband. She was devoted to him for their 64 years of marriage and was especially caring through his years of dementia.

Thea is survived by her siblings, Alex (Arvilla), Jueschke, Arthur Jueschke, Ingrid Standish, June Pearl (John) Germanis, Judy Ayotte, and Dale Matthies; her five children; Mark Neilson, Kirk (Norene) Neilson, Jenny (Tracy) Miller, Andrew (Deborah) Neilson, and Nelissa (Nate) Woodard, 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

The family would like to express their sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the staff of Legacy Village for all their kindness and love shown to Thea while she was a resident there.

A viewing will be held at Holbrook Mortuary in Salt Lake City, on Friday, June 28, from 3 to 4 p.m. A graveside service will be held Saturday, June 29, at 11 a.m. in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.