The Lord in His infinite mercy, has called to Beverly A. Nissen and she is with her Lord and has received the new birth in Jesus Christ on Feb. 12, 2022. She now has received a new body and is singing God’s praises. Beverly was born Aug. 28, 1935, in Seward, to Florence V. (Wood) and Robert J. Chloupek. She was a much-loved quiet child with curly blond hair and an inquisitive mind.
She attended a one-room school, which was a mile east of the farm where she grew up. She loved to read and was lost in a world of her own. She had a photographic memory and craved learning. She attended high school at Staplehurst for one year and transferred to Seward High School and graduated in 1953.
In the fall of her senior year in school, she joined the local 4-H club and raised a calf as her project in the beef livestock division. Her father, Bob, told her she needed to do this to help finance her tuition in the fall. She showed her beef calf project that summer, much to her enjoyment. She attended the University of Nebraska for two years. Money was short, so she took a break in her education and taught in a one-room county school for a year and returned to the university the next fall. While attending classes, she worked at Love Library and the Lutheran Chapel on campus. She had a double major of history and English and graduated from UNL in 1958 and with a MA in 1959.
After graduation, she moved to Omaha to teach English at Benson High School and was married to Lowell Nissen on July 31, 1960. Of course, her ornery young adult relatives played tricks on the newlyweds, which had the end result of happy memories.
With their move to Illinois, Beverly taught at Partridge West High School. This school gave her many challenges. In Wisconsin, she taught in Oshkosh West High School. Later, her husband obtained a teaching position with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, so she entered grad-school at the university to worked on her PhD and taught half time.
Beverly and husband, Lowell, wanted to adopt a child and were told that one of the parents had to be a “stay at home” parent. They made the decision for Bev to be that parent and so she kept herself busy volunteering at the church they attended and many other things until they had that child. Beverly took up hand spinning and found a love of needle lace.
In 1972, eight and one-half year-old Lois Ann came to live with them. Lois needed much love and attention and help with her schooling. Beverly became proficient in hand spinning, weaving, dyeing with natural dyes and an expert on spinning wheels. She taught and demonstrated at the John Campbell Folk School in North Carolina and was a mentor at a folk school near Lake Tahoe, California.
Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Lois and Robert Ganous, Myron, Georgia; her three grandchildren, Zachary (Kelsey) Ganous, Meghann (Brad) Butler, and Jordon Ganous; two great-grandchildren, Barron and Naomi Ganous; her sister and brother-in-law, Barbara and Billy Bird of Seward; brother and sister-in-law, Dick and Judy Chloupek of Lincoln; her sisters-in-law Helga Nissen, Hawley of Minnesota; and sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Larayne and Rev. Richard Radde, Morehead, Minnesota; niece, nephew, many other relatives and a host of friends. Beverly was preceded in death by per parents, Robert and Florence Chloupek and husband, Lowell.
A graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 18 at the Seward Cemetery. Condolences may be left for the family online at volzkefuneralhome.com.
