Andrew Sofus Nielsen, 98, passed away surrounded by his family, September 21, 2023.    Andrew lived at home and directed his farming and ranching operations until very recently.   He was preceded in death by his wife Leola (Dora Kusenberger) Nielsen, his parents, Sofus Nielsen and Alma (Scharnhorst) Nielsen.  He is survived by his sister, Emmy Lou Blessington and  four children:   son and daughter in law, Jimmie and Gail Nielsen, son and daughter in law, Floyd and Shirley Nielsen, daughter and son in law, Karen and Ross Petermann and daughter and son in law, Eileen and Leland Ottmers.    He is also survived by eleven grandchildren, Christy Luedecke, Camilla Eppler, James Nielsen, Elizabeth Nielsen, Bradley Nielsen, Cherity Hardison, Lynn Petermann, Noel Clark, Quintine Ottmers, Scott Petermann and Melissa Eckert.  He is survived by 21 great grandchildren and 5 great great grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by two brothers, Percy Nielsen and Clarence Nielsen, three sisters, Ophelia Weinheimer, Dora Meier and Janie Ruth Nielsen and a granddaughter, Christina Nielsen.

Andrew has lived a full life of hard work and dedication to his family, his church and to his land.   He has lived through the good times and some hard times constantly adjusting to provide for his family.  Andrew's father passed away when Andrew was very young requiring him to start work at age 16.  Starting back in the early 1940's, he has farmed and ranched continuously for over 75 years near Stonewall.    During his lifetime, Andrew has seen incredible improvements in equipment and technology going from horse drawn wagons and plows as a child to huge, air-conditioned tractors and combines that make for better working conditions and amazing increases in productivity.  Going from cotton, to oats, to peaches and finally corn, Pop, as we call him,  was at his best when he was on a tractor.  He loved to farm and he loved his farm. In addition to farming and ranching, Andrew was an experienced truck driver hauling tires to Love Field to help the war effort and hauling peaches from Stonewall to Houston and San Antonio.   In his later years, Andrew focused on raising corn, hay and cattle with the help of his trusted farm hand, Junior Espinosa.

His work to maintain and improve his land is one of his proudest accomplishments.  Over the years, he personally designed and built terraces on all his fields reducing soil erosion.   Another not so small accomplishment has been keeping cedar and mesquite under control and always keeping his fences in top shape.  His efforts earned him the Comeback Farmer of the year from the Soil Conservation District.

In case you think Andrew only worked hard, one of his true loves was music.   His love of music showed up early.    He told the story of how at age three, he would sit up on the counter at Burg's Store and  sing songs for a piece of candy.  As an adult, he performed with many bands as a singer and bass player.  The primary band he performed with, the Highlanders, played most Saturday nights all around the Hill Country including playing for the Kerrville German Club who honored Andrew with a plaque for his 60 years of music for their dances.   Andrew played stand up bass for many years and switched to the electric bass in his later years.  As a stroke of divine intervention, back in the 50's, Andrew picked up a serviceman hitch hiking to San Antonio.   Andrew told him about his love of music and the serviceman was so appreciative of the ride he said he would sell Andrew his standup bass he had at a pawn shop for $150.   It was a great price and Andrew bought and played it for many years.

Leola and Andrew valued education for their children.  She was a teacher for 28 years and  it was important to her to expose their children to new experiences.  During several summers, they packed up the family of six and headed out on road trip vacations.   They traveled to Pikes Peak, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Grand Canyon, Glacier National Park and Florida.

Andrew was a long-time member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Stonewall where he was baptized and confirmed.    He served in leadership roles and sang in the church choir.   A few years ago, the church replaced all their windows with new stained glass.    Andrew purchased an entire window in honor of his wife Leola.

All of Andrew's hard work and dedication has been recognized with several awards.   These include Stonewall Chamber's "Golden Service Award" and the Soil and Water Conservation District "Pioneer Award".

As you can see, Andrew has lived an incredible life that represents a generation that has seen so much:  from a depression, to wars and amazing improvements.   His life is a testament to perseverance, adaption and independence.   Along with his beloved Leola, they raised a wonderful family and their lives represent the best of Texas and the essence of the American Dream.