Supercentenarian Profile

Eleanor Nielsen

Born:

1903-01-26

West Point, Nebraska

United States

Died:

2013-01-26

Norfolk, Nebraska

United States

Eleanor J. Nielsen (née Wrede) was an American supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Eleanor Nielsen was born in West Point, Nebraska, USA, on 26 January 1903, to parents John Wrede Sr. (1859–1938) and Anna L. Guenther (1876–1948). She grew up with two sisters and one brother. When she was just one year old, her family moved to Creighton.

When Eleanor and her older sister first started school, they were sent home because they spoke only German. Their father had been born in Germany, and their mother was the child of German immigrants. The teachers explained that they could not attend school without speaking English, so the girls were sent back to West Point. There, their grandfather worked closely with them and the family to help them learn English. Once they had gained proficiency, they returned by train and resumed their schooling. The family later moved to a farm near Crofton.

At age 14, Eleanor began learning how to drive. Her father made an arrangement with the car dealership owner in Crofton: the dealer would taught Eleanor to drive, and he would purchase a car from him. As a result, Eleanor took driving lessons every day after school from the dealership owner.

At the age of 17, she received her first marriage proposal. Six more followed, she later recalled. After dating for some time, she married Oluf Peter “Pete” Nielsen (1900–1975) on 14 August 1937, in West Point, Nebraska. After 19 years of employment with the telephone company in Bloomfield, she left her position to work alongside her husband at their Chevrolet dealership in Bloomfield.

The couple had one son, Wendell, who died of pneumonia at just 18 months of age. She often said this was the most difficult experience of her life and that she was never able to have another child. They owned and operated the dealership for many years before retiring in the 1950s. Her husband passed away in 1975, also from pneumonia.

She remained in Bloomfield until the age of 108, living independently until 2010, when she moved into an assisted living facility in Bloomfield. In 2011, after suffering a fall that resulted in a broken hip, she was transferred to Heritage of Bel Air.

Eleanor Nielsen passed away in Norfolk, Nebraska, on 26 January 2013, her 110th birthday.